The New Gamemaster
by CoGDork
Summary: The worlds of some of the greatest videogames ever were in danger. They summoned a hero. They got me. Sucks to be them, huh? Male SI mass Nintendo crossover!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** **_Hey everyone! Welcome to my newest self insert fic! Today, I'll be ruining classic Nintendo games for you. Also, I will be borrowing a couple of concepts used in the EXCELLENT webcomic "Captain SNES" for this fic, but not whole cloth. Be sure to look that one up—it's hilarious, badass, nostalgic, fascinating, and all-around epic._**

 _ **I do not own anything beyond the OCs in this story. Nintendo, on the other hand, owns my mortal soul.**_

* * *

You know how in every "summoned to a fantasy world to save it from destruction" story, they always get some kid or other average loser to be the hero? Well, I myself always wondered why they did those stories that way. If you think about it, it really doesn't make much sense at all, does it? I mean, if they can summon some random kid, surely they could actively look for someone who's actually QUALIFIED to be a hero, right? There would have to be billions of soldiers, policemen, martial artists, etc., far more qualified for hero-ing. And yet they always go for the wimpy schmuck. I thought it was just lazy writing. But as it turns out, it's not.

It's just plain bad luck at its worst. But hey, you know what they say: heroes are made, not born—right?

I guess I ought to introduce myself. The name's Casey Kendall, average wimpy loser schmuck kid. Well, I was actually fifteen when this all happened, but I guess it doesn't matter. I must have gotten stuffed in more lockers than any other guy in the nation by hundreds of pathetic lowlifes who had nothing else to do than to pick on the nerd. Which is the technical term for "one with glasses who is good at and kind of enjoys schoolwork and therefore has no life". About the only consolation I had from all of that was my love of classic video games from the NES and SNES eras. Well, the joke's on those jerks—or, at least it would be, if I could tell anyone what happened to me.

See, as it turns out, all the games I grew up with, all the ones that I enjoyed at that time? They're real. As in, really, really, REAL. And they were under assault in the worst way.

* * *

 **PALACE OF GATES**

"We've barred the doors. That should buy us a few minutes..."

"A few minutes isn't NEAR long enough, Belmont! Her highness needs more time to narrow down her search!"

"You think we don't know that?! It's not like we have any other way of slowing them down—"

"If the three of you could be silent for a few moments, I might be able to complete this task more quickly!"

"Well, excuse me, Princess..."

The sounds of heavy fighting rang through the marble halls, and even the heavy doors sealing the chamber could not block the sound completely. Three warriors stood at the ready, one with his whip and a vast array of thrown weapons, another garbed in red and black with a strange cannon on one arm, and the last with a sword and shield. The three young men were guarding a tall, slender woman in flowing garb as she began to cast a spell, one powerful enough to rend space and time asunder in the hope of locating one that could aid their world in its most desperate hour.

Similar magics already flowed through the building in which they stood, but far more limited in scope, for these merely bridged the gap between worlds that were already connected. This spell would create an entirely new connection, to a world only spoken of in rumors and whispers, a world whose inhabitants held unspeakable power, a power whose existence its wielders were entirely unaware of. The power to break the very laws of reality and bridge the gaps between worlds in ways that no one from any known plane was capable of, not even their enemies.

The thought of bringing such a being into their world would have given them great pause, were it not for the dire situation they were in. Darkness flowed between the worlds, calling to it the worst villains in each, offering great and terrible power in return for their service. The greatest heroes of all those worlds rose in response, but the sheer size and scope of the enemy forces made their resistance feeble. They needed a trump card, a game-changer. They needed a hero.

To that end, a spell had been designed—it would gather together all the magics within the palace onto a single point, search the world beyond worlds for one with the mind, heart, body, and soul of a hero, and pull them toward the source of the spell in hopes that the hero summoned could save their world. But finding such a hero would take time. Countless souls had to be searched—the relic whose mark was branded on the back of the princess' hand granted her wisdom and insight that would make the process quicker, but even with that, the sheer number of individuals in the other world was daunting.

" _Gods of Magic, those who hold the keys to reality, heed your daughter's call! Pierce the veil between realms with your light, that I may seek one who shall save your creation!"_

Brilliant lights converged in the center of the room, forming a window of sorts; the window showed face after face in such rapid succession that none but the princess, with her magically enhanced senses and mind, could perceive as anything but a blur.

"Princess, have you found them?"

"Not yet... I'm getting closer, though..."

"Well, hurry it up! They're almost through the door!"

The massive doors shook with the fury of the creatures behind it. The whip wielder and the swordsman held their ground, but their companion could wait no longer. The red-garbed warrior ran to the princess, grabbing her wrist.

"Princess, make your choice now or we're all dead!"

"Stop, you'll ruin—"

"Proto, no!"

"They're through!"

* * *

 **THE HUMAN WORLD**

 _Another day, another bruise. Who decided gym class had to be taught by the same brand of idiot who already makes the rest of my school life a living hell?_

A young fifteen-year-old boy kicked a pebble along the ground with his feet, his back hunched from the weight of heavy books on an already weak frame as he nursed a sore spot on his side from the latest academically-endorsed mandatory competitive physical torture session—better known as 'dodgeball'.

In case you haven't guessed, yes, that was me. Little did I know that dodgeball would be a blessing compared to the crap that I would have to go through on a regular basis—starting with the sudden explosion of every electric light in the immediate area.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

As the whole alleyway I was walking through went all Highlander on me, a powerful wind picked up as a hole in the world opened in front of me, a blinding light shining through. I felt myself pulled helplessly off my feet, tumbling into the light...

* * *

 **PALACE OF GATES**

The forces of darkness retreated briefly from the blinding light of the spell, just long enough for the whip wielder and the swordsman to seal the doors once more before turning around to see the face of their savior.

To say they were disappointed was a severe understatement.

"This is a hero?"

"He's no hero, he's just a kid! Look, he doesn't even have one muscle on him!"

"Damn you, if you hadn't interrupted her—"

"ENOUGH."

The three warriors turned from the unconscious form in the center of the room towards their princess's voice. The rightful Ruler of Worlds panted from exhaustion. "Arguing over the current situation will not save anyone. Whoever this is, they will have to do; that spell exhausted all the magic this place had left, and it will likely take years to regenerate the power necessary to repeat. Sending him back and trying again is out of the question."

The swordsman looked back towards the door. "Yeah. And they already bashed those doors open once—if we're going to escape, this is our only chance."

The red warrior was already uncovering the wall panel that concealed the secret exit from the Palace of Gates. "Then we'd better get moving. Belmont, grab the kid. I'll take point."

Once he was through, The Vampire Killer lifted the teen over his shoulder and followed the robot through the corridor, with the other two members of their party not far behind, the entrance to the hidden corridor vanishing once again just as the enemy breached the chamber.

* * *

I didn't know where I was—it was too dark to see. But at the moment, I didn't register anything beyond the splitting headache.

"Hrnng... someone get the number of that truck..."

"Hey, he's waking up!"

I vaguely recognized that I was being carried fireman-style, and that the voice came from the one carrying me. I had a moment's panic.

"HOLY CRAP OH GOD WHAT'S GOING ON PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

Okay, more like a moment's near pants-wetting terror. Good thing it was only NEAR pants-wetting—I don't think I could have handled the humiliation from that, let alone the great pain I would have suffered at the hands of the heavily-built man carrying me. Fortunately, I kept just enough composure to avoid doing so, and the man in question quickly spoke to calm me down, though the deep bass and rough timbre of his voice didn't help.

"Hey, calm down, kid! We're not going to hurt you!"

"He could get us all killed if he yells like that again. In case you haven't noticed, there's a bit of an echo in these halls."

That second voice came from ahead of us; it sounded almost entirely human, save for a barely noticeable metallic twinge to it. A voice from nearby followed it, this one carrying with it a much more natural timbre.

"Proto, can you maybe stop being a jerk for one second? You're the reason he's here!"

"This 'jerk' is currently trying to get us all out of here alive—!"

"Quiet, all of you! This is getting us nowhere!"

The final voice was different from all the others. Feminine and full of grace, but with a definite undertone of "don't mess with this person or they will never find your body". Then that same voice spoke to me, but instead of intimidating me with its authority and presence, it filled me with a strange sort of warmth and peace that had an immediate calming effect.

"Do not be afraid, child. You are safe with us. Remain still and quiet, and I promise nothing will hurt you. All of your questions will be answered in due time..."

It was still too dark to see, but in spite of my initial impression of "oh shit, oh shit, I'm being kidnapped", I found myself believing that last voice. Whoever it was, she spoke as if it were a statement of fact rather than a simple reassurance. I nodded, holding on tightly to the one carrying me.

Suddenly, we emerged from the long corridors through which we had been travelling into a large chamber lined with torches; the burly man carefully set me down on my feet before helping to steady me. It took several seconds for my eyes to adjust to the change in light enough for me to see anything, but nothing could have prepared me for the shock of who had been speaking to me. For I was now surrounded by four fictional characters.

Simon Belmont, the Vampire Killer.

Protoman, the First Son of Light.

Link, the Hero of Hyrule.

And last, but not least, Princess Zelda.

"I did not expect to say this to one so young, and I wish it were under brighter circumstances, but for the sake of politeness, I shall say it all the same: Welcome to our world, child. We have much work to do."

* * *

 _ **For those of you who remembered the awful original cartoon, no, this is not the brainless idiot Belmont from that show. This is the badass barbarian-looking dude on the original Castlevania cartridge art.**_ **_And yes, that was a reference to The Protomen near the end there._**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** **_I think I might have found my niche here on FF—SI fics just seem to feel right to me. I'm not sure why. I've resisted doing them for so long because I was afraid people would criticize/make fun of me for doing them, but now that I've started, I find these types of fics so much easier to write than any other kind. Hopefully I'll learn stuff from this fic that I can use in the future._**

 _ **This chapter is going to move really fast and be full of infodump, but it can't be helped. With that out of the way, let's get on with the story!**_

 _ **I don't own anything in this fic aside from my OC.**_

* * *

I would have been freaking out had I actually believed what was happening. I KNEW these characters like the back of my hand; I had played their games over and over. These were the worlds and heroes that kept me sane on my roughest days, and here they were, standing in front of me.

Simon Belmont, the hero of the first few Castlevania games. Wielding the legendary whip known as the Vampire Killer, along with a vast array of thrown weapons, this guy stormed Dracula's castle, slew every monster inside, killed Dracula (twice!) and lived to tell the tale. He practically towered over others with his massive, muscular frame and his studded leather armor making him look like something off of a heavy metal album cover.

Protoman, a robot created by Dr. Thomas Light to fight evil, and the "older brother" of Light's second creation, Rock—better known as Megaman. A red helmet with a black visor covered the top half of his head, and his body was sheathed in black and red armor accentuated by a yellow scarf. A minigun-like arm cannon took the place of his left hand, while his right held a white shield as tall as him.

Link, the eternally-reincarnated Hero of Hyrule, protagonist of the Legend of Zelda game series, bearer of the divine relic known as the Triforce of Courage. This guy in particular was my personal favorite game character, practically a role model for me. He wore his trademark green tunic and hat, a Hylian shield in his right hand complimented by the legendary blade of evil's bane known as the Master Sword in his left.

And last but certainly not least, Zelda, the titular princess of the Legend of Zelda games, bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom and a powerful magic user. Despite her track record of being kidnapped just as most game princesses tend to be, she was rarely idle in the series, often aiding Link indirectly through her spells, her sage advice, or by giving Link the weapons needed to complete his mission. Her flowing gown was decorated with soft pink and deep purples, a golden tiara completing her regal attire.

"This has to be a dream. You're fictional characters!"

"What are you talking about? I'm pretty sure I'd know if I weren't real."

Link turned to the Vampire Killer. "Obviously, somehow word of our adventures spread to his world, and they just assumed we were stories. I still have a hard time believing the things I've been through..."

"No, that's not it, I—"

"Pardon me for the interruption, but why are we stopping? The enemy's going to be right behind us once they find the hidden corridor. They're not all stupid. Besides, we need to make the rendezvous with my brother..."

The princess spoke next. "Calm yourself, Protoman. The entrance will take time to be breached, and the boy needs to at least know the reason for his presence in our world before we continue. We cannot simply carry him the rest of the way and hope to reach the others in time to escape."

She then turned to me, her expression dire even as her voice remained serene. "Protoman is correct, however, at least in terms of our limited time. I apologize, but I can only give you the briefest of explanations for the time being. Our worlds are in grave danger from an unknown threat. We learned of legends that spoke of your kind—a people from another world with powers unlike any that exist here, powers that could save us from our enemy. I cast a spell to open a window to your world in hopes of pulling a hero through it—and that is how you came to be here."

I shook my head vigorously. "Lady, I don't know what you're talking about, I'm not a hero! I'm just some guy—"

"I know. I never intended to place one so young as you in this situation, but the spell was interrupted before I could find a candidate more suitable. Once all of this is over, I will do everything within my power to return you to your world, but for now, I am afraid you are trapped here. I am truly sorry."

Before I could react, Protoman chimed in again. "Your highness, we need to move. Rock just contacted me; the ship is waiting for us at the exit."

"Forgive me, child, but further explanations will have to wait. Protoman, continue taking point; Link, Simon, bring up the rear. We must move quickly!"

Simon put his hand on my shoulder, shaking me out of my disbelief. "If you want to make it out of here alive, you'll have to stick close to us and do what we tell you for now. Let us handle the fighting."

This was all still too much for me to handle, but the prospect of dying was enough to motivate me to move. We continued through the torch-lit chamber into another series of tunnels, the floor gradually sloping downwards the further we went. Panic still swept my mind; I still didn't know what was going on, and I didn't like it one bit.

As we approached a massive gated doorway, an explosion shook the corridor behind us. Whipping around, we saw a large hole in the ceiling through which a number of menacing robots emerged, lead by massive robot with drills for hands. I recognized the big one immediately as Drill Man, one of the bosses from Mega Man 4.

"Really, did you think you could get away that easily, princess?"

Suddenly, Protoman shoved us all through the doorway and smashed his fist into a button on the wall, causing the massive iron gate to slam shut behind him. Without turning back, he shouted at us through the bars of the gate.

"Get the princess and the kid out of here NOW!"

Without even a second's glance backwards, the others ran ahead. I tried to say something—I wasn't sure why. But before I could, Simon grabbed me and dragged me with him.

"C'mon, kid, we don't have time to argue! We're almost out of here!"

The sounds of intense combat roared behind us as we charged the rest of the way through the corridors, which ended at the mouth of a cave opening onto a steep cliff. Hovering at the edge of the cliff were two more familiar sights: a huge yellow spaceship with a blue-armored robot standing on top of it, the cannon on his right arm at the ready.

The former was called the _Chozo_ , the personal spaceship of Samus Aran, the heroic bounty hunter extraordinaire and heroine of the Metroid game series. The robot was none other than Protoman's brother, Rock, aka Megaman.

"We were worried you wouldn't make it. Hurry up and get in!"

The four of us immediately climbed aboard as the ship bolted off into the sky. The interior was mostly cold steel with no windows and various computer panels covering the walls. A small hatch on one side lead to what was most likely the cockpit, with two more doors on the opposite wall leading to other rooms. As we stopped to catch our breath, Megaman looked at me in confusion.

"Is this him? He's just a kid!"

"We know, Rock. Protoman interrupted the spell before the Princess could find the right person."

Megaman began looking around the room at that.

"Wait, where IS Proto? Why isn't he with you?"

Zelda gave a solemn shake of her head. "I am sorry, Rock. We were ambushed by Wily's machines as we were fleeing; he gave his life to save us."

The blue robot didn't cry; he simply looked down, eyes closed in sorrow. In spite of the fact that I had only met Protoman mere minutes ago, the reactions of the group to the robot's death shocked me.

"Why are you all just accepting this? You guys lost a friend, and he lost a brother, but none of you are even crying! Hell, we just left him behind without a word, or even a look backward!"

"This is a war. People die in wars all the time. It hurts, but it's part of the job."

This voice was feminine, but hard and world-weary, giving the impression of a war veteran. It belonged to a blonde woman in a massive suit of armor, her iconic helmet under one arm as she stepped out of the cockpit.

Samus Aran, one of the few female protagonists in gaming; the armor she wore was given to her by an alien race known as the Chozo, and saw her through many battles against the Zebesian Space Pirates. Unlike Megaman and Protoman, whose arm cannons were part of their bodies, the one on her right arm was instead part of her suit. She looked at me with an unreadable, stoic expression.

"There'll be time to mourn when it's all over. Until then, the best anyone can do is to make sure the one who died doesn't die in vain. Though from the looks of you, we're going to have our work cut out for us in that respect."

"Did we at least get away safely?"

"Yes, ma'am. We've just made the jump back to the Hub; so long as your spell got cast, they won't be able to use that place to spread from world to world for a while. We'll be at the palace within the hour."

The princess nodded in response. "Good. That will hopefully allow the worlds to start rebuilding their defenses for the next attack as we prepare for our next move."

This was all moving way too fast, and I was still lost and struggling to catch up. Zelda turned to me and began to speak.

"With that said, I believe I promised you more explanations. Please, ask whatever questions you have, and I shall endeavor to answer them for you."

I swallowed nervously, but the need for answers overpowered my anxiety for the moment. "Okay, first off, where are we? What's all this about different worlds?"

"Strange; your people know of us, yet you don't know about the multiverse? Well, then, I suppose I can explain. We all hail from separate universes, but all are connected to each other by a system of gates that link to a single shared world known as the Hub. The Hub is home to millions of people from countless worlds, all of them vastly different. I am both the ruler of my world and the current ruler of all worlds, but the latter is not a title exclusive to myself. These individuals are members of the Royal Guard, selected from among the greatest heroes known throughout the multiverse."

"Okay, who is the enemy you talked about earlier, and why do you need someone from my world if you have all these guys?"

She shook her head. "As for our enemy, we know very little about them. For ages, the multiverse was at peace—but one year ago, an army made from the worst criminals from all the worlds suddenly attacked, wreaking havoc across many worlds and slaughtering countless innocents. We know nothing of how they formed, but we are certain that they are being lead by an unknown party. Our forces do not have the advantage of numbers, and our armies were no match for them."

She paused for a few moments before continuing.

"Then, suddenly, we had a breakthrough. We found that they had been using the Palace of Gates to travel between worlds—the place from which we have just escaped. It was once used as the primary means of travel, but was abandoned long ago. We had heard of your people through old legends—long ago, one of your own came here via that place; this man was capable of using any weapon, any spell, any technique from any world. He saved the multiverse from an unknown threat—the same threat that is likely behind these recent events. We realized that this was the only chance we had to even the odds. After months of careful research and planning, we infiltrated the Palace of Gates to bring you here and simultaneously limit the enemy's ability to spread in one stroke. However, as previously stated, you were not the intended hero; though we have successfully limited the enemy's movements, we had hoped to find one from your world already capable of fighting for us. Sadly, we cannot return you to your world at this time—that was the only place where that spell could work."

That last sentence hit me like a ton of bricks. As difficult as my life had been, the thought of never being able to go home, the thought of never seeing my family again—it was too much to bear. I started to cry. The room went silent for a long time, save for my tears. Suddenly, the Princess put her hand on my shoulder.

"I am so very sorry... I cannot imagine how hard this must be for you. I promise you that I will do everything within my power to find a way to send you home... but for now, I fear you have no choice but to be our hero."

"But I'm NOT a hero! And I don't have any powers—"

"He's right. This kid won't stand a chance. We ought to find him some safe place to live so he can stay away from the fighting, and then we can just try to figure out some way to win without him."

"Samus, I was TEN when I started out. I had to teach myself almost everything I know on the fly. And if the princess says we need his power, then I think we should take her at her word."

The bounty hunter narrowed her eyes at Link. "So what do you propose we do? Just let him fight and hope he learns fast before he's killed?"

"No. But we can teach him."

The princess nodded in agreement. "Link is correct. The child can be trained, and besides, the spell would not have pulled him in at all if he did not at least have the potential to be what we need."

The princess then looked at me with a sympathetic expression.

"As desperate as we are, I would not force you to do this if you did not wish to. Will you accept our help?"

I thought about it for a long time. These were the heroes I grew up with, heroes I looked up to. The idea of going on an adventure with them was something I dreamed about when I was little, but this was far too real. At the same time, though, I had no choice—if I ever wanted to see my family again, I would have to at least try.

"...I'll do it."

Zelda smiled warmly. "Thank you. What is your name, child?"

"Casey."

"Very well, Casey. You may be young, but I yet hope you may become the hero we need."

I still wasn't sure about that. As it turned out, though, she was right. It wasn't easy—I went through my fair share of pain and sorrow—but in the end, I grew stronger for it. After all, you know what they say: heroes are made, not born.

* * *

 _ **Well, that was a lot of talking packed into one chapter. And yes, this will be a lot more serious in tone than my Naruto fic. But as I've said in the author notes for that one, I believe in the Bluth style of storytelling where earning your happy ending makes it all the more triumphant. Until next time!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** **_One thing I've noticed about most SI fics is that they rarely explore the implications of inserting an ordinary person into a fantasy world. With my Naruto fics, I wanted to see how they would deal with changes in canon, as well as the difficulties of adjusting to a new life in a different world. With this one, I intend to explore concepts of how heroes become heroes, as well as what the definition of a hero is. At the same time, I wanted to expand on the personalities of famous classic Nintendo characters that never really got genuine personalities due to the whole "silent protagonist" thing (before you mention Metroid: Other M, let me say this: THAT GAME NEVER HAPPENED. IT DOES NOT EXIST. All those who say otherwise shall be punished for their heresy). Anyway, enjoy this new chapter!_**

 _ **I don't own anything in this fic aside from my OC.**_

* * *

"We're about to exit the jump. Cutting the warp drives in three, two, one..."

The ship didn't jolt at all; the technology of the spacecraft was so advanced that without the sound of the engines, you'd never know it was moving. With no windows in the main hold, I decided to take a peek in the cockpit to see if there were any there. As it turned out, there were no windows; however, there WERE viewscreens where the windows would normally be that served the same purpose, giving the pilot an unobstructed view without providing a structural weakness. Samus sat in the pilot's seat, her hands manipulating various controls. I looked at the viewscreens, interested in seeing what the Hub looked like.

The outside of the craft was nothing but a wormhole that constantly shined with rapidly-changing colors. As the warp drives cut off, the wormhole vanished, revealing nothing but white clouds. Disappointed, I almost walked out of the cockpit until we plunged through the clouds; what I saw nearly took my breath away.

The Hub was, to put it simply, MASSIVE. If I had to describe it, I would call it a patchwork metropolis by the sea that must have been three times the size of New York City. It was laid out in a wheel-like pattern, the "spokes" of the wheel splitting it into four different sections, each one looking like its own unique little world. One section was a sprawling futuristic city straight out of the Fifth Element, with metallic towers reaching toward the heavens, flying cars zooming around and spaceships flying overhead. Another looked like a medieval fantasy city, narrow streets lined with homes and buildings that wouldn't have seemed out of place in the Harry Potter books or the Arthur legends. Yet another area seemed to be your typical real-world modern city, not unlike Manhattan, and the final one was far more natural-looking, based around peaceful meadows, parks, and lavish gardens. The sections were further broken up by four concentric circles; the outermost one featured a futuristic bullet train that sped around the city to the various sections, while the next one was a wide river through which ships sailed, one spoke of the city serving as the harbor to allow ships to sail out toward the ocean. The third wheel was a modern highway that cars, trucks and buses of all sizes and shapes sped around, and the innermost one was a simple dirt path for horses, carriages, and wagons. But the true masterpiece stood at the center.

In the very middle of the city, a glittering palace shot towards the sky; it was white as ivory, with gold trim decorating the battlements and blue roofs that pointed toward the heavens. The surrounding walls were of an incredible size, at least thirty feet tall and twenty feet thick, a lavishly-designed gate granting entrance to the courtyard. The castle itself was not unlike the Cinderella castle in Disney World, a truly magical-looking building whose beauty words could not do justice. The back of the castle had a large courtyard with a lavish garden, a landing pad, barracks for the soldiers, and a few storehouses.

"Enjoying the view?"

I turned to look at Samus; her eyes were still focused on piloting her ship, but a smirk was on her face.

"I've never seen anything like it. It's incredible..."

"You're not alone there, kiddo. Everyone has about the same reaction when they see it for the first time."

A few moments passed in silence. Samus spoke again, but this time the smirk was gone, her tone much more serious.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this? We could easily find you a home somewhere with someone to look after you."

"I'm not a little kid, I'm fifteen."

"That's still a kid in my book. And I should warn you, the kind of training you'll be getting will be VERY difficult, and that's not even going into how much danger you'll have to face once you're ready. Being a hero isn't for the faint of heart, and I can say with absolute certainty—the voice of experience—that literally NOTHING can ever truly prepare you for combat. I still wake up some nights..."

Her expression became solemn, a haunted look in her eyes that spoke of many painful memories.

"Again, I just want to make sure you understand what you're getting into. You're still young, and unlike Link you didn't grow up in a world where you'd have to learn a measure of self-reliance from the get-go even before you learn to fight."

I considered her words for a few moments before responding with a shake of my head. "I get what you're saying. I'm still scared—in fact, I'm terrified—but I want to at least try. If it means I can get home faster, I'm willing to give it a shot."

She looked at me with an unreadable expression before returning her gaze to the viewscreen. "Go back and join the others; we'll be landing soon and I'll need to do some maintenance once we get on the ground. They'll give you the grand tour."

* * *

The interior of the castle was just as awe-inspiring as the outside; huge vaulted ceilings with glittering chandeliers stretched above us, with stained glass windows, lavish paintings, and soft red carpets lining the halls. Guards in knightly armor stood shoulder-to-shoulder with more modern and futuristic-looking soldiers, while equally varied civilians—nobles, servants, butlers and maids—hurried from place to place as they carried out their duties. Training rooms, armories, and storage areas were in the basement; the main floor featured a large dining hall with a lavish kitchen attached, a throne room, a few offices, and a huge ballroom for receptions and parties. The second floor had a council chamber, a library filled with countless books, a war room, and the servants' quarters. The third floor housed the private chambers for the royal guard, with large staterooms and guest rooms connected by a common area that had a dining table, a television and a grand piano, while the top floor housed the Princess' living space. Once the tour was over, I was shown to one of the guest chambers; it had three rooms: a living room, a small bedroom, and a bathroom with tub, toilet, and sink.

As the others went to their areas, Link gestured to the room. "This is where you'll be staying for the time being. My room is just next door; if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

I turned to look at the Hero of Hyrule. "When will we start training?"

"Tomorrow. It's been a long day for all of us; Rock in particular is going to need some time to deal with Proto's death, and we've all been at it for a few days. With the Palace of Gates out of commission, we should be able to take a couple of days to rest and recover. We also have to plan our next move, as well as work out some other arrangements, such as the nature of your training and who will be teaching you what. For now, try and get some rest. You'll need it."

My mind went back to the problems of my situation. As amazing as this place was, I still missed my family, and was still nervous as hell. Link must have sensed that, because he put his hand on my shoulder and spoke calmly.

"Don't worry. You're safe with us; the Princess will make sure you find a way home one day, and we'll make sure you're ready to fight. You'll get through this—I promise."

He exited the room and closed the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts. After a few minutes of looking through the chambers, I went into the bedroom and collapsed on the huge bed, exhausted.

When morning came, I found myself being shaken awake by Link. "Up and at 'em, kid. We've got work to do."

After getting cleaned up and having a bite to eat in the common room, I followed Link down to the basement where the training rooms were. The rest of the Royal Guard was present, but Zelda was conspicuously absent, no doubt due to having to deal with matters of state. The team of some of the greatest heroes in Nintendo history stood in a semi-circle, looking at me. To say I was overwhelmed would be the understatement of the millennium. Link spoke calmly and directly.

"Here's how it's going to be: Simon will be your physical trainer to help you get in shape, and teach you some hand-to-hand techniques. Rock will handle your weapons training, and Samus will be your instructor in tactics and strategy. As the leader of the Royal Guard, I'll be your general instructor; whenever you're not working with the others, you'll follow me around most of the day. I'll also be your swordplay teacher. As for magic, you'll spend some time in the library under supervision as you study. During the training, you will refer to all of us as either "Sir" or "Ma'am", depending on the instructor, and you'll do what we say, when we say it, without exception and without complaint. Is that understood?"

I nodded nervously. "Yes, sir. I understand."

"Well then, let's get started, shall we?"

I knew on some level that the training would be difficult, but I was definitely not prepared in the least for just HOW difficult it really was. Belmont had me doing constant exercise when he wasn't throwing me around like a rag doll on the training mat; Megaman had me firing a blaster at various targets, but I missed constantly, and had a great deal of difficulty figuring out how to hold and operate the various ranged weapons he showed me. Samus was the hardest of all; her style of training was a unique form of sparring using mild stun blasters and close-quarter combat in combination, while constantly shouting at me to keep concentrating and think about my every move. When I wasn't with them, I walked around all day with Link as he went about various duties, or trained with a wooden sword. The only part of the day that didn't involve physical exertion was my time in the library—that part was my favorite, but even it was very demanding, as plenty of the basic concepts I had to learn flew right over my head. By the end of the day, I had sweat gallons, and ached all over my body. I was pretty sure I had some bruises from the physical training, and the study sessions in the library had given me a splitting headache; all in all, that first day was absolutely overwhelming. I understood that it was this difficult for a good reason, but still, it shook me to my core.

After it was all done, I sat down in the common room for dinner with the others. Belmont barked out a hearty laugh at me as I tiredly pecked at my food. "Hahaha, looks like we may have overworked him a bit!"

"Well, he'll have to suck it up. The Chozo were just as tough on me when I was growing up."

"He's definitely got a lot of work to do on his ranged weapons technique. I don't think he hit one target that whole session!"

"Hey, Samus, Rock, give the kid some slack, will you? It's only his first day..."

I groaned a bit before mumbling out something along the lines of, "I'm sitting right here, you know." All in all, I was just way too tired to talk, and as nice as the food was even eating seemed like a task due to exhaustion. By the time we finished, I was eager to get back to my room and sleep. As I got back to my room, I heard Link behind me.

"You did well for your first day, Casey. You've still got a long ways to go, though, and it's not going to get any easier here on out. Do you still want to keep doing this?"

I huffed a bit at that. "I'm aching, I'm tired, and I've never worked this hard in my life. Even so... I already made up my mind. The idea of quitting is tempting, but at the same time, I want to see what I can do."

He paused a bit before responding with a chuckle. "Heh. I guess that's understandable. Believe it or not, I used to be the same way before I got the Triforce of Courage."

I turned to him in mild surprise. "Really?"

"Yup. I was ten years old when I first left home. I grew up in the forest; it was a carefree life, aside from the fact that all the other kids there had fairies for partners. I was the only one without a fairy..."

I realized what he was referring to; this was the Link from Ocarina of Time.

"After I finally met my fairy partner, Navi, things went insanely fast. I had to leave the forest with no real training, no supplies except the clothes on my back... if not for Navi, I'm pretty sure I would have died on the first day. I can't tell you how many times I came close to death; I was still a little kid, and ninety percent of the time, I was shaking in my boots or screaming in fear."

I couldn't picture the Hero of Hyrule as being afraid, let alone screaming in fear or shivering in terror. "How did you manage?"

"Well, for one, I had no other choice. The only way to survive was to keep moving forward, no matter what the obstacle was. Secondly, I knew that other people would get hurt if I didn't do anything, and as scared as I was, I didn't like the thought of people getting hurt or killed because of me. Her Highness guided me when I didn't know where to go; but the thing that got me through the most was having a friend..."

A sad look crossed his face. I recalled that at the end of Ocarina of Time, Navi left him for some reason. Evidently, he never did find her. Link sighed heavily, then continued speaking.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is this: just because you're struggling now doesn't mean it'll be that way forever. It's scary, the life of a hero—but so long as you don't give up, and so long as you have someone to help you when the weight of the world is bearing down on you, it'll all work out in the end. The princess said you had what it takes, and so long as you believe that, you'll get there eventually."

I thought about that for a few seconds before opening the door to my room and going in. I reflected on the day one last time; it all still hurt, and it was all still overwhelming. But for some reason, it kind of felt good. I wasn't sure why. But I figured I'd find out as things progressed. At the very least, I counted myself lucky to have these heroes nearby. This was only the beginning.

* * *

 _ **There will be at least a couple more chapters of training before we get into the main plot; don't worry, I'll do my best to keep things interesting and develop these characters more. The OC has a lot to learn, which means more opportunities to explore what being a hero is, and as I said in the Author note at the start of this chapter, that's something you never really see in a SI fic. Give a review if you have the chance, and I'll see you next time!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** **_I'm still amazed at how fast inspiration is striking when I write these kinds of fics. This chapter has some more training and character interaction, but don't worry, we'll get into the main plot soon enough._**

 _ **I don't own anything in this fic aside from my OC.**_

* * *

The next day started out much the same as the previous one, except this time I woke up on my own. Rough training and the possibility of being an orphan due to potentially never being able to go home aside, this place wasn't so bad; Link and the other heroes were really strict teachers, but at the same time they did their best to motivate and encourage. The thought of eventually joining their ranks excited me—but then I'd remember that once that day came, I'd have to risk my life constantly, and potentially watch other people get hurt or even die. In spite of their encouragements, the others never let me forget that what they did was insanely dangerous, and the weight of their responsibilities incredibly heavy. But I also knew that the faster I became a hero like them, the faster I would probably get home. I thought that was motivation enough; looking back, I realize how selfish that motivation truly was. But then again, I was only fifteen.

I came here with nothing but the clothes on my back, but fortunately, the guest suite I was given had clothes in the closet. As young as I was, though, they weren't quite in my size; I figured that once I got a break from training, I might ask someone to help me find some that fit. Then again, there were far bigger concerns than how I looked.

After breakfast, I followed Link down to the training areas; the first thing on my schedule was always physical fitness and hand-to-hand training with Simon Belmont. The Vampire Killer was, as I mentioned before, HUGE. Somewhere around seven and a half feet tall, and built like a tank, it was a miracle that most people didn't just constantly freak out at his size. But to a scrawny teenager like me, he seemed even more of a giant in comparison.

"Come on, Casey, you can do better than that! Only a hundred more to go!"

A giant who was currently holding one foot on my back as I did push-ups. Like I said, the training was ROUGH.

"Nngh... I'm doing... the best I can... Sir!"

"If you want to be anything more than a burden in a fight, you're going to have to do better than your best!"

I fought through the strain as I continued the exercise. "Easy... for you to say... Sir. You killed Dracula... the freaking lord... of all vampires... twice!"

He barked a laugh at that. "Yeah, and the second time under a death curse that constantly sapped my strength. He ought to have been embarrassed at how easy he went down!"

Fifty more to go. My muscles felt like they were on fire, but I pressed on. "Yeah... rub it in... why don't you... Sir."

"Sorry about that, kid. I get a little carried away sometimes. Wow, it seems like it's been forever since those days..."

He went silent for a while, but kept his foot on my back. Finally, I finished the set, and let myself collapse, panting heavily from the workout. As I lay there, I saw him hand me a flask of water.

"Here you go. You've earned a break for now."

I took the flask, sat up, and began chugging it down like a man dying of thirst in the desert. It was cold and wonderful. I finished and wiped my mouth, still panting.

"Ugh... I think you might be overestimating me, sir. I mean, look at you—you're practically ALL muscle, while I'm skin and bone."

"You think I started out like this?"

"Nah. Link told me something similar. I get it, this is something I have to work for, and it's supposed to be tough."

Belmont nodded with a slight chuckle. "Well, that's one lesson I won't have to go over with you."

I looked him over; this guy was the definition of "badass". Look up the word in the dictionary, his picture would be right next to it. But then again, he did come from a long line of badasses. His ancestor, Leon Belmont, founded his line and forged the legendary Vampire Killer whip that each heir to the Belmont legacy wielded as they battled against the forces of darkness. A question formed in my mind at that.

"What was it like, growing up knowing you were from a long line of heroes?"

He sighed a bit, thinking carefully about the question before smiling wistfully. "Well, on the one hand, I was proud of my last name. I remember playing around with a toy whip, pretending I was my great-grandfather Trevor Belmont, the first in our family to fight Dracula; I wanted to be just like him, as my father was before me."

He frowned. "On the other hand, there was a ton of pressure. I had to live up to that name; at the same time, I knew that since Dracula appeared every hundred years, and it had been almost a century since Great-Grandfather had killed him previously, I would have to fight him. My father and grandfather regularly took down werewolves, regular vampires, and plenty of other creatures, but the stories they told about Dracula made those threats look like nothing. I would have to surpass my father AND my grandfather in order to fulfill my role in the Belmont legacy. Some days, I almost cursed my name in worry over the expectations placed on me."

"How did you deal with that? Not knowing whether your best would be good enough?"

"Well, like I said, I constantly worried that I wouldn't be able to stack up to my ancestors. I did everything I could to try and catch up to the image of them that I had in my head, but it seemed like no matter how hard I worked, their example was just too big. Then one day, I found Leon Belmont's journal. I was shocked at just how much he doubted himself as he fought against the forces of darkness; for so long, I had seen him and Great-Grandfather as practically GODS, but in reality, they were just as human as me. I realized that the reason I couldn't catch up to their image was because I had created an impossible standard. By constantly comparing myself to that image, rather than actually motivating myself, I ended up holding myself back. Once I realized that, everything changed; it was like a huge weight came off my shoulders. I didn't have to be another version of them, I just had to be the best version of ME."

I thought on that for a while. After a few minutes, he took my hand and helped me to my feet.

"Well, that's enough resting. Now let me see your punch..."

* * *

After Simon came ranged weapons training with Megaman. Rock was an amazing shot with his arm cannon. I, on the other hand, still had trouble hitting my targets, though I definitely did better than the day before. Samus came next, and instead of the spar from yesterday, we played a game of chess. She was REALLY good, which kind of surprised me; she was a bounty hunter, a space warrior, yet here she was, playing a board game. Even so, I understood what the purpose of it was—since we had focused on spur-of-the-moment tactics the first day through sparring, she was now seeing how well I fared when I had time to formulate a plan. She was clearly the tactician of the group, kind of like Piccolo in Dragon Ball. Thinking one or two steps ahead was difficult enough as it was, but since her line of work in her world involved searching for and hunting down bounties when she wasn't soloing an entire criminal organization, she probably had to think a hundred steps ahead. That kind of thinking almost made my head hurt, but I gradually started to pick things up.

"Checkmate."

At least, I thought I did.

"Wait, what?"

"You've lost."

I looked at the board. "No I haven't. I can still move here—"

"Yes, you could. But then I'd respond by moving my bishop HERE, and from there, the only moves you would be able to make would be capturing that pawn, exposing your king and trapping it, or moving your king back, after which I could just take your last rook, which would also expose and trap your king. No matter what you do, it ends the same way."

"But it's not checkmate until there aren't any moves available..."

She smirked. "Most all games between experienced players end before either one actually puts the other in checkmate. It's the same with combat strategy; once you see you can't win, you need to back off and try again some other time. If you keep going even when it's hopeless, all you'll do is ruin any chance of victory in the future."

I found that last sentence kind of strange. "So, what you're saying is, when the going gets tough, run away? What kind of hero says that?"

"The kind that knows that retreat isn't defeat. Heroes fail all the time; sometimes, the bad guys end up winning. When that happens, most people stop trying. But a hero understands that failure is only permanent if you let it be. So long as you're alive, you can try again from a different angle."

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything..."

Link had just walked in. Samus turned to look at him.

"Not at all. We were just finishing up, in fact."

"Well, that's good, because I've got him for the next two hours."

She began putting up the board as I walked over to the Hero of Hyrule. Time with him was divided in half; the first half involved swordplay, and the rest involved following him around as he went about his duties. During the latter half, he often had me watch what he did and learn by example; it felt awkward a bit. He had to introduce me to various people he dealt with as his apprentice, which made me nervous. The former was understandably more interesting; the wooden sword I had was about the same length as his Master Sword, and roughly the same shape. I also had a wooden kite shield; wielding both in concert was much harder than it first appeared.

"No, don't lunge, just thrust. Sword-and-shield fighting doesn't require as much dramatic movement as other types of swordplay. Now try again, and this time don't overextend."

I did my best to correct myself, but considering this was only my second lesson, just basic footwork was a challenge. There was still plenty of exertion, but Link's style of training was slightly different from the others in that he often had me simply mimic his movements, and occasionally "fix" my technique by grabbing my arms or legs and putting them in the right spot before showing me again. He told me right off that he wouldn't have me spar until he knew I had the basic stuff down, but considering the complexity of swordplay, it made sense to wait on that.

"Like this?"

"Hmm... better. We might be able to start sparring next time."

"Link, sir?"

"You have a question, I take it."

"Sort of. It's not about the swordplay, though."

"That's alright. What do you want to know?"

"Why do you have me follow you around instead of focusing entirely on teaching me how to use a sword and shield?"

He chuckled. "Being a hero is more than fighting, Casey. Talking to people and organizing things is just as important. A hero sometimes has to be a leader, too. I didn't start out as one—my first couple of adventures were solo affairs—but then the Princess was chosen to be Ruler of Worlds not long after her official coronation as ruler of Hyrule, and she chose me as her guard captain. It was a whole new world for me, and having so many people look to me for guidance was often overwhelming since I didn't have anyone to show me the ropes. Thus, I made you my apprentice."

"You make it sound like I ought to be wearing a uniform or something."

He paused a bit before correcting my form a little more. "Okay, put a little more weight on this leg here... Would a uniform make things easier?"

"Well, not really. Just thinking."

"Alright, then. Here, keep a little bend in your elbow as you thrust... What are you really thinking about? Anything in particular?"

"Just... everything. How far I have to go, the things I'll have to do. Part of me wants to take you guys up on the offer of finding a home for me here, but going back to my own world is a little more important to me."

Link went silent at that, gazing at me with a serious expression. "Is that why you're working hard? To get home?"

"Well, winning this war will give the Princess some more time to figure out a way—"

"That's not good enough."

"Okay, what am I doing wrong this time?"

"I'm not talking about your form. I'm talking about your reason for doing this."

I looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

His stare was intense. This was serious business to him. "You know how much we keep saying how difficult the life of a hero is? Well, part of the reason for that is because of the sacrifices we have to make. Sometimes, being a hero means being willing to throw away what you want so that other people can have what they need. I had to give up my home to become what Hyrule needed me to be. Could you do the same?"

I went stiff at that question.

"You're young, and you miss your home and your family. That's understandable. But once you're ready to fight, you'll have other priorities. If the reason you fight is so you can see them again, you won't be able to make that sacrifice if the situation calls for it. And it may very well end up calling for it. You're going to have to take the burden of others on yourself so they don't get crushed by the weight. THAT should be why you want to get strong—so you won't let others fall when the chips are down, so that you can carry that weight when you need to without it breaking you in the process."

I looked at him as he spoke. His tone was dead serious, but full of righteousness. In the games, he was a silent protagonist; outside of grunts and battle cries, you never heard him speak, and there was no written dialogue for him either. The lore and the reactions of other characters in the games gave the impression of a truly courageous and virtuous individual, but before now I had no idea just how much that description fit him. If ever there was the perfect example of what a hero ought to be, this was it.

"I don't know if I can be like that... if I can be like you. I can get strong and smart, I guess, but the stuff you said? It's not something I can just train. Being like you might be more than I can be..."

He went silent for the rest of the session. Once we were done, I hit the books next, still under his supervision as I studied the basics of magic, but he still didn't say anything. I almost thought that I had given a wrong answer and ticked him off somehow. Even at the end of the day, as I went to bed, he still stayed silent. Had I screwed it all up?

The next morning, I found him shaking me awake again. "Get up and get dressed. We're going for a bit of an errand before you start training today."

I did as I was told and followed him in confusion. He led me to another part of the basement where the armories were, and spoke to the quartermaster.

"Is it ready?"

"Yes, Sir Link. The smiths just put the finishing touches on it."

The quartermaster handed Link something that I couldn't quite see from where I was standing; the Hero of Hyrule spoke to me without turning around.

"You said you didn't know if you could be like me. Well, I'm not saying you should just copy who I am instead of trying to find out what kind of hero YOU could be... but part of being a hero is inspiring others to be heroic themselves. Consider this a little bit of inspiration."

He turned around and showed me that he was holding two items, folded on each other. One was a chainmail jerkin; the other was a green tunic, both of them in my size. I looked at the gift in awe, then back at him.

"What? You did say something about a uniform, didn't you?"

* * *

 _ **Next time, we start the real plot. What is the true nature of the threat to the multiverse? Can our future hero learn on the job? Will the author actually learn to write? Find out next time, on The New Gamemaster! [cue DBZ outro music]**_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** **_If you're enjoying this, feel free to check out my other stories. I'll be alternating between writing this and writing Nowhere Fast in particular from this point forward as inspiration comes, so don't be surprised if updates are somewhat unpredictable for both. Don't worry, I don't intend to let either one die!_**

 _ **I don't own anything in this fic besides my OC.**_

* * *

Even a couple of days later, I was still reeling from Link's gift to me. The chain mail was heavy, but with the intensive workouts I had been getting, it wasn't anything that really hampered me. In fact, I felt stronger all-around, considering it had only been four days of training; I still had difficulty with my aim, but in other respects I had at least gained basic skill. Magic was about the only thing I couldn't do at all yet, but as good as I always have been at studying I was confident I would be able to start soon. All in all, I felt far stronger than I had ever felt in my entire life.

Unfortunately, giving a fifteen-year-old this kind of confidence, generally speaking, ASKING for trouble. And though it all turned out okay, the amount of trouble I nearly did cause was more than enough to humble me, stern lectures aside.

"Make sure you lead the target a bit at this distance. Otherwise, by the time the shot gets there, the enemy has already moved out of the way."

I held in my hand a blaster almost identical to the old Zapper Gun that came with the original NES as Rock/Megaman directed me on my aim. I was surprised at his attitude in general, considering his own brother had died in combat only a few days before. Even so, I was too considerate for the blue robot's feelings to bring up such a tender subject.

"So where's Dr. Light? Isn't he your creato-er, your dad?"

The silence from my instructor was deafening.

"...He's dead."

I turned to look at him. "What? How?"

"One of Wily's robots; he was one of the first prominent people to die in this war. He had a lot of respect from all over the worlds as one of the most brilliant humans ever to live... but as far as Proto and I were concerned, he was just our father..."

Tact gave way to curiosity at that point; as much as I didn't want to upset him, I wanted to know more about him as well. "What was he like?"

Rock smiled. "He was a peaceful man. He always believed in the good in people, and wanted to make life better for everyone—but at the same time, whenever he made mistakes, he always owned up to them and never made excuses. For example, when he first built Proto and me, he initially planned it to be a means of providing labor that was too dangerous for organics. But once we developed sentience due to our AI... he completely scrapped those plans. He treated us as his sons, not his creations, and never once let anyone refer to us in any other way."

The robot frowned as he continued. "Sometimes his good nature got the better of him, though. Case in point, Dr. Wily. Wily and him used to be partners, even friends. But as dad's fame grew, Wily's accomplishments went virtually unnoticed; the last straw was one of his own creations being mistakenly attributed to dad because it used a similar power supply matrix. He stole several of dad's designs, used them to make the Robot Masters—Drill Man was one of them—and attempted to systematically destroy his life with his own creations. Important laboratories and factories burned, a major school that dad had established as part of a charity for education was blown up... Proto and I couldn't bear to see him so broken down. But the robot masters were too advanced for organics to handle. So we asked him to let us deal with them."

"How did he react?"

"He refused. We weren't built for combat, we were built as assistance models—basically, walking toolboxes. Our arms could reconfigure themselves into any machinery we scanned, except weaponry. We pointed out that with combat model conversion we'd be able to use that to destroy the robot masters with their own weapons, but he didn't want us fighting at all. Finally, he relented, and that's how this," Rock showed his arm cannon, "got made. We succeeded, Wily was sent to jail, and everything went back to normal, for a time. The day Proto and I were invited to join the Royal Guard was the proudest day of his life..."

His frown deepened even further; we were getting to the worst part now. "Then Wily escaped. He built an entire army of robots in practically record time—probably with the help of whoever is behind our current war—and sent them to cause chaos throughout our world. Proto and I weren't technically Royal Guards yet because we had only just gotten the invitation, so we didn't have backup to protect dad while we dealt with the problem..."

I nodded in understanding. "It was a distraction, wasn't it? While you were out fighting..."

Rock didn't speak for a while. "I understood full well that organics grew old and died. I knew that we'd eventually lose him. But... until you actually experience death personally, you can't possibly know what it's like. We were going to accept the invitation as a means of serving people, but now we did it to avenge our father... and now Proto is gone..."

I never thought I'd see a hero, let alone a robot, cry. There weren't any actual tears—that wasn't possible for him, for obvious reasons—but that was the only way to describe what he was doing. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up."

He recovered a bit. "It's okay. Sometimes... sometimes we need to talk about these things. Heroes need to be able to face these problems, but that doesn't mean we don't feel—and I would rather be able to feel this, as bad as it is, than to not feel anything at all."

Before I could say anything else, a guard rushed into the room. "Megaman, sir, it's an emergency!"

"What's the problem?"

"Enemy forces spotted in Hyrule! The rest of the Royal Guard is heading for the _Chozo_ as we speak..."

In an instant, all sign of grief was gone from Rock's face, replaced with the stoic and calm expression of a professional soldier. "Then there's no time to lose. Casey, stay here."

"What?"

"You're not ready for combat yet. We'll be back before long; until then, keep practicing."

"But I—"

"NO BACKTALK. Stay here!"

As he rushed off, I still reeled from the tone of his voice. The more rational part of my brain told me he was right, I wasn't ready. But at the same time, the cocky teenage portion of my brain was angry at being treated like a child, especially considering how far I'd come in such a short time. Unfortunately, the latter side won. With all the panic, it wasn't hard to sneak aboard the _Chozo_ as it lifted off and warped to the world Link and Zelda called home.

* * *

As the ship came out of warp, I heard Zelda's voice from my hiding place in a weapons locker. "First things first, we focus on protecting civilians. Rock, Simon, and I will direct the evacuations; Samus, coordinate with our soldiers and direct the counterattack. Link, you're commander in chief—allow Samus to lead her part of the battlefield as she sees fit, but otherwise you have the command."

"Wait. Sensors indicate an intruder on board..."

"Samus, who could possibly—oh no."

A few seconds later, the weapons locker was opened, revealing a VERY angry Rock. "I told you to stay behind, Casey!"

"Rock, we cannot deal with this right now. We must hurry if we wish to get the civilians to safety. Casey, as long as you are here, you can at least aid us in the evacuations... but make no mistake, we WILL discuss your actions later, and there will be consequences for disobedience."

I gulped at the Princess' words and the reactions of the heroes—I was absolutely certain it would not be a pleasant conversation—but I nodded all the same. "Yes, ma'am!"

We landed in the courtyard of Hyrule Castle, and rushed out towards Castle Town. It was pure chaos; the smell of smoke and the sounds of heavy fighting were everywhere, along with the screams of innocent civilians desperate to flee; Link and Samus ran off to their duties. But before the rest of us could begin to carry out the Princess' orders, a large group of piglike monsters appeared; they were all over eight feet tall, wearing plate armor and wielding massive spears. These were moblins, a common enemy from the Zelda franchise.

To my shock, rather than use his ranged weapons, Rock fought physically; his arm cannon changed form into a blade, which he then proceeded to use against the nearest enemy. Simon served a tank-like role, using his whip to keep most of the enemy's attention on him and peppering those who got away with his various thrown weapons. Zelda dodged her enemy's blows with catlike grace, responding with powerful magical blasts from a distance. The battle was over almost before it started; this was the strength of heroes! Even so, I was confused by the high-tech character using physical methods of combat.

"Why didn't you use your arm cannon?"

"We can't hurt this enemy with them. One of the laws of the multiverse is that if a form of attack doesn't exist in a universe, it has no effect on anything from that universe. No more questions, now; things are too dangerous here, you need to get back to the ship—"

Before he could finish the sentence, a MASSIVE moblin fell from the sky, dropped by a gigantic birdlike creature. The monster nearly crushed the heroes under it as it landed—but more frighteningly, it was now between me and the ship.

"Simon, Rock, keep it busy! I can back you up with my spells—"

The moblin interrupted Zelda with a sudden sweep of its spear, forcing her to dodge, focusing all its attention on her and preventing her from charging up any powerful spells. The other two heroes attacked it continuously, but to no avail, and though Zelda shot at it with magical bursts, without her more powerful spells it all seemed hopeless. And there I stood, helpless to do anything but watch. But worst of all, this thing wouldn't have caught them off guard had I not been there. Why didn't I listen to Rock when I had the chance?

Suddenly, the massive creature charged at me. But I couldn't move—I was frozen in terror. I heard the other three shouting my name, but I was too petrified to do anything but hold my hands out reflexively... then, something happened.

I felt a strange energy envelop my right hand as I shoved it out towards the giant moblin. My eyes were closed, and my terror prevented me from realizing what was going on... until I heard a shot from an arm cannon, followed by a huge explosion. I opened my eyes to the shock of my life.

The moblin was gone, a huge groove in the ground leading to a massive scorch mark on a wall almost fifty feet away; something had hit the beast so hard it was knocked into the wall with lethal force, after which it burned away in magical fire as its kind did upon death. But the true shock came from the source of the attack.

My right arm had changed.

Into a blue arm cannon identical to Megaman's.

The other heroes looked on in shock; even Zelda looked utterly flabbergasted by what just happened.

"That's... not possible..."

"No, Simon. That is the power of his people... astonishing!"

"How the hell did you do that?! You didn't just change your form, you violated the laws of reality itself!"

I stood in place, staring wide-eyed at my arm—no, my arm CANNON. I answered Rock's question as best I could, given my shock. "I... I don't know! I-it just happened!"

Zelda shook herself out of her amazement and looked toward a crowd of fleeing civilians. "We can discuss this later—we need to get these people into the castle keep!"

As the civilians crowded into the keep, a large boulder thrown by an enemy trebuchet fell out of the sky toward us; without even a thought, I pointed my arm cannon at it, sending out a blast that completely disintegrated it. All of a sudden, I felt TIRED—more than I had ever been. Rock grabbed my left wrist and helped steady me.

"Why am I dizzy?..."

"You must have used up too much energy on those power shots... your arm cannon works just like mine, drawing energy from you and charging it into an energy attack. We'll need to take a closer look at what you did when we get back to the Hub."

At this point, Link and Samus returned, out of breath but relatively unharmed. "We've got them on the retreat... wait, Casey, your arm—!"

"It seems that mortal danger activated the latent powers his people possess."

"But wait, what if it can't change back?"

No sooner had I asked the question than my arm cannon glowed, then shifted back into an ordinary human hand.

"Whoa..."

"Took the words right out of my mouth, kid. Still gonna make you do five hundred push-ups when we get back, though."

Simon barely chuckled before noticing the serious expressions on the other heroes. As incredible as this was, I had still screwed up and put myself and others at risk. On the way back, I braced myself for the inevitable fallout.

* * *

 **UNKNOWN LOCATION**

"It seems the new gamemaster has awakened his power."

The mysterious black shade boomed a reply in a guttural, yet ethereal voice. **"I know. I sensed it even from here. Did the invasion otherwise go as planned?"**

"Indeed it did. None of them are aware of the true objective; the relic is in our possession, and by the time they know of its theft, we will already be prepared to take the next one."

If an eldritch abomination without identifiable form could smile, this one would be grinning ear to ear. **"Excellent. On the subject of our enemies, can I assume you will fight to kill, even if you face your brother in combat?"**

Protoman stood up, hatred on his face. "I have no brother."

* * *

 _ **Sorry about the quality of this chapter. I'm still trying to figure out how to write fight scenes, and I really wanted to get on with the story before making one longer than this was.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** **_Did the twist at the end of the last chapter confuse you? Well, get used to it, because it's not going to be resolved for a while! You'll just have to live with the suspense._**

 _ **I don't own anything in this fic aside from my OC.**_

* * *

"GROUNDED?!"

"Yes."

I could not believe my ears. I knew there would be consequences for running into battle with the others when they told me I wasn't ready, but this was absolutely humiliating.

"I'm not a kid—"

"You are fifteen."

"Link was younger—"

"And I nearly died multiple times."

"And you're not my parents!"

"We're the closest thing you have right now!"

I stopped at Link's words. I didn't like hearing them, but I knew it was true. The princess spoke next in a calm yet authoritative tone that allowed no room for argument.

"Listen very carefully, Casey. While it is true that Link had been much younger than you when he began his first quest, not only had he already been somewhat self-reliant due to living in the forest, he was, to put it simply, LUCKY that he did not perish before he found the Master Sword. You have indeed improved dramatically, and the power you displayed today indeed saved our lives. But you still have nowhere near the level of training that even a common soldier has, and your recklessness could have easily gotten you and everyone around you killed. Is that what you want to happen? How would you feel if one of us died to protect you? How do you think WE would feel if you had died on our watch when we promised we would help you?"

The Princess was using the time-honored method of psychological warfare known as "parental guilt-tripping". And it was working. I looked at my feet, unable to respond.

"You will still train with the others, but you will not be allowed any other activity, and you will have dinner and breakfast in your chambers rather than with the rest of us. Is that clear?"

I nodded in understanding, but was still to embarrassed to speak.

Link gestured for me to follow him to my room. He didn't look back at me; his disapproval in particular HURT. He was my personal favorite Nintendo character, and since coming to that world he had been a role model for me. The green tunic he gave me was the single greatest thing that had I had ever received from anyone in my life. And here he was, treating me like a disobedient child.

When we got to my room, I started to go in when I heard him speak.

"Casey. I know this is hard for you to understand. I can't imagine what must be going through your head right now. But this is not just about you—your power may very well mean the difference between life and death for millions. If you die, you put those people in harm's way."

"But doesn't being a hero involve being willing to put yourself in danger?"

"Yes. But there's a difference between courage and recklessness. When you charge in heedless of the danger, simply because you want to fight, that's recklessness. When you know what the danger is, you know how dangerous it is, but you charge in anyway for the sake of others? That's courage. What you did today was not courage, because you did it to prove something. You still have the potential for great good, just the same as everyone. But you have plenty more lessons to learn before you're ready, and some of them aren't the kind that come from training. Think about that..."

I entered my room and sat down in a chair. I was still pretty angry about being treated like this; when you're fifteen, you want people to start treating you like an adult—but at the same time, you often still act like a kid. That's when my thoughts turned against me: had the spell that brought me here not been interrupted, this world would be far better off for it, and deep down, I knew it, even if I didn't want to admit it due to my teenage pride. The heroes I had grown up admiring through their games were inconvenienced by having to teach me and semi-raise me, and it heavily limited their ability to do their jobs. Then I have to go and make things worse...

Yeah, the parental guilt-trip was definitely working.

* * *

The next day went slightly different from the usual regimen, and not just due to my being grounded. I remembered Zelda telling me that people from my world had latent powers in this one that broke the laws of reality, but actually SEEING it was something else entirely. This was something that had to be examined, so that I could learn to use it at will.

Unfortunately, superpowers NEVER come with an instruction booklet. Which was why I was standing in the target practice range, thrusting my right arm out again and again, trying to figure out how I changed it into Megaman's arm cannon. Needless to say, I looked pretty stupid.

"Gah! Why won't this work?"

"My guess is as good as yours. Are you sure your people don't know anything about this power?"

I turned to Rock in frustration. "Of course not! Hell, superpowers are stuff you only read about in stories or comic books!"

"Of course not...?"

"...Sir."

The insistence on the whole "Sir/Ma'am" thing had vanished fairly quickly after the first couple of days of training, but with me being grounded, it came back with a vengeance—likely to help teach me to curb that pride of mine. Fortunately, the others were nice enough when I did do it, and while they were still pretty strict, they didn't go out of their way to rub it in. That said, you tend to forget formalities when you're irritated by your lack of progress.

That's when I recalled something about the incident with my powers.

"Sir, I just realized... you know how I've been a terrible shot on the range?"

"Well, I wouldn't call you terrible, just in-training. Why?"

"How come I suddenly became a perfect shot back there?"

Rock went wide-eyed at that. Apparently he forgot about that too.

"You're right. You killed that moblin with one blow, but shooting that boulder out of the sky? With the amount of power you unleashed, the recoil alone would have thrown most trained people off their aim. Something else must have changed... but what?"

We both wracked our brains trying to solve the puzzle. And Rock was a robot with a supercomputer in his head. If he couldn't answer the question, how could I?

Then it happened. I felt the strange sensation on my arm, and with a glow it changed form into the arm cannon.

"Okay, how did it happen NOW?"

"I don't know—wait. I think I figured it out! Just before that thing charged at me, I thought about how you told me to stay behind, and just now I was thinking about how much smarter you are than humans..."

The blue robot nodded, eyes wide. "You're right! And then, when you wondered if it would be stuck like that, it changed back. Which means it must be activated by visualization! You must have picked up my auto-targeting abilities along with the arm cannon, too. Try thinking about your human hand while focusing on making it change back!"

I nodded, and concentrated on what my arm normally looked like. The glow returned, and my arm was back to normal again.

"Alright, I did it!"

"Looks like we figured it out. Try thinking of someone else now... Link, maybe?"

I closed my eyes again, thinking about the Hero of Hyrule... and... nothing. The glow returned, then faded away, leaving me normal again. Normal and absolutely exhausted. I collapsed to my hands and knees, panting heavily.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah... I think... I just... wore myself out... sir."

"I guess you'll need to work on stamina or something. It's strange that you didn't get anything from Link... Oh well. You can rest for a bit—no sense training if you can't even stand."

I nodded in agreement, sitting down on the floor with my hands steadying me. Neither of us noticed a slight glow on my right hand.

* * *

"What's this about a theft?"

"Evidently the attack on Hyrule castle was a distraction from the enemy's true goal there. As we focused on defending it and the civilians, the enemy tunneled into the castle vaults and stole a powerful relic."

Training had been interrupted by urgent news concerning the aftermath of the attack the day before. In spite of my being grounded, I was able to convince the others to let me attend the briefing. The Princess opened a large tome written in Hylian characters, pointing to an image of the relic in question. It was a simple mirror, the handle and backing of the same blue hue as the titular musical instrument from Zelda: Ocarina of Time, with a gold border to the mirror itself. I instantly recognized the artifact; it was a major plot point in A Link to the Past.

"This artifact is known simply as the Magic Mirror. Its power involves the ability to send its user into another dimension, from any location."

"If our enemy can already coordinate attacks across worlds through the gate system, why do they need that?"

"Without the Palace of Gates, they don't have a hub to allow for fast travel between all the different universes, and have to travel indirectly by the lesser gates. Maybe they plan to use this in some way to solve that problem."

"I'm not sure, Simon. As useful as that would be for them, I get the feeling that they have something different in mind. You were busy with evacuations, so you didn't see just how big their main force was. They threw a whole lot of their troops at Hyrule Castle to distract us; would they risk so many of their forces like that if they didn't have something more important to gain?"

Zelda nodded at Samus. "I agree. Cross-dimensional travel is the main use for the mirror, but it only allows for one individual to travel—hardly useful for transporting armies. Its properties run deeper than that, however; not even the wisest mages and scholars in Hyrule were ever able to truly uncover its potential. If our enemy knows something that we do not, it does not bode well."

At that point, I remembered a bit of lore from the Zelda franchise. "Wait, don't you have the Triforce of Wisdom? I thought it gave you the ability to see the future and read minds and things like that. Why not use it to find out what the bad guys are doing?"

She shook her head. "That was the first thing we tried. The Triforce of Wisdom can only read the minds of those in the direct vicinity, and the enemy has somehow found a means of blocking that ability. They have also limited my ability to see their movements through clairvoyance, as well as the gift of prophecy. If this theft is part of a larger plan that they do not wish us to comprehend..."

Samus nodded, following the logic. "Then if we just react to them whenever they show up, we won't be able to stop their plans. We need to find a way to go on the attack..."

"Which is precisely why I have called all of you here. While I cannot perceive the enemy with the Triforce of Wisdom, I have been able use it to study the inner workings of the Mirror to a degree that the aforementioned Hylian scholars could not, and use the resulting knowledge to locate similar objects from the other worlds. There are several, including the mirror, and all of them seem to have some ability to affect the dimensional barriers that separate our worlds."

She then pulled out a large paper covered in images of various objects and spread it over the briefing table. "I have drawn these images of the artifacts from my visions, and listed the worlds in which they may be found. Now, as Simon pointed out earlier, by removing their ability to use the Palace of Gates as a hub, we have limited their movements to a more predictable pattern. In order to go from Hyrule to Transylvania, for instance, they would have to pass through at least four other worlds on the way, which would risk their movements being discovered and interrupted. Therefore, we can assume that if they wish to steal another artifact, they will use the shortest possible route between worlds to reach their target. In which case, the next artifact is likely this one," She said, pointing to an image of an ancient-looking stone slab covered in odd runes. "The Unown Tablet, which is located in Johto."

That name struck me like a thunderbolt—we were going to the world of Pokemon! Oh wait...

"I guess I'll be stuck here until you guys get back..."

"Actually, I believe it would be far better for you to accompany us. We can't be certain of our ability to keep an eye on you in the event of an extended trip, so it might be safer to keep you close by."

I looked at the Princess in surprise. "Does this mean I'm not grounded anymore?"

"No. While you will travel to the different worlds with us, you will either remain on the ship, or stay somewhere that is unlikely to be involved in battle. One of us will accompany you at all times, and you are not to run off. We will try to train you as best we can in the meantime, however. Hopefully you will be ready before the enemy gains too much of a lead on us."

To say I was disappointed in that answer was an understatement. I was really looking forward to seeing what Pokemon would look like up-close; hopefully whoever was with me would at least let me walk around a bit. Even so, I knew better than to argue the point now. Things would only get more dangerous from here on out...

* * *

 _ **Here we go—the universe-hopping arc. I've always wanted to write this kind of thing. I already have a few places in mind, but I'm willing to accept suggestions for possible game worlds. The only requirements are that the game must either be a Nintendo-only franchise, or at least have enough games for a Nintendo console that it could still count as a Nintendo game. I'm not making promises, so I might still just go with what I have planned. But the story is set up so that it won't be greatly affected by the kind of worlds explored, so as long as you make good choices I will probably be able to work your suggestions in. Leave your suggestions in a review if you have them!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** **_I made a few changes to the last chapter to remove some stu-ish aspects from it. As broken as the main character's abilities have the potential to be (which is actually a necessity for the story), I realized it wouldn't work to have him getting too strong too quickly without first earning it somehow._**

 _ **I don't own anything in this fic aside from my OC.**_

* * *

The _Chozo_ dropped out of warp right over a huge city. It looked kind of like your average Japanese metropolis—tons of big buildings pressed tightly together, vibrant signs and billboards all over the place. The only place available to land was a wide rooftop helipad on one of the larger buildings, right in the middle of the massive urban sprawl.

 _Wow... so this is Goldenrod City!_

The team gathered together in the main hold of the ship and began to discuss the plan for this trip.

"Here's how it's going to go: odds are, the enemy won't use the same brute-force tactics they have been using in other worlds; the presence of pokemon here would make an outright assault difficult for them, so in all likelihood they'll be using more subtle means of getting what they want. That gives us time to do some homework before we make our move. Rock, Samus, you're with me; we'll split up and try to gather as much information as we can on the Unown Tablet, then meet up somewhere to decide what to do. Simon, you've got the fort. Casey, you stay here and do whatever he tells you to do. I don't know how long we'll be in this world; if it turns out we'll need to extend our stay, we'll need to find some actual lodgings as the ship doesn't have enough supplies to last more than a couple of days. In that event, we'll radio you guys with a meetup location, but until then, you don't leave the ship unless Simon says you can. Is that clear?"

I nodded, but truth be told I was still pretty miffed. I really wanted to see what pokemon looked like up close, and here I was stuck on the _Chozo_ with nothing to do besides maybe a little exercise—there wasn't enough room on the ship for actual sparring. Even so, I knew I was still in hot water over recent events, and didn't want to push my luck any further if I could help it. Link must have noticed my discontent, because he smiled a bit.

"Don't worry, Casey. We probably won't be gone too long. If the enemy really are planning to be subtle about this, you might be able to leave the ship for a bit, as long as you stick close to one of us. Just be patient until we contact you, okay? Let's move, everyone!"

Simon clapped one of his huge hands on my shoulder with an eager grin. "So, ready to work out?"

I sighed. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

 **NOT TOO FAR AWAY**

"Ugh, seriously? Closed for the day... at this rate, I'll never get my first badge!"

Ethan Argento stood dejectedly in front of the doors of the Goldenrod Gym, slumping in defeat as a cyndaquil sat on his shoulder. The fifteen-year old Goldenrod native had prepared extensively for this day, and his partner had worked just as hard in training, only for this letdown to occur.

"C'mon, Pyro. Let's just get something to eat before we go home."

The pokemon in question perked up at that, chirping eagerly. "Quil! Quil!"

Pyro had been a gift for Ethan's twelfth birthday, and ever since the two were inseparable. Ethan never did put his partner in a pokeball—it always felt more natural to have his best friend right by his side at all times, and Pyro liked that just fine as well. As the two walked up the stairs onto a train platform, Ethan caught sight of a spaceship sitting on the roof of a nearby building. Almost immediately, all thoughts of disappointment fled from his mind, replaced by excitement.

"Whoa! Pyro, do you see what I see? That's the _Chozo_! I've only seen it in the news! I wonder if the Royal Guard are here? Wouldn't that be awesome? Hey, maybe if we hang around the building we might catch a glimpse of one of them!"

Pyro once again chirped happily, the pokemon equivalent of a smile on its face. "Cynda cyndaquil!"

The two headed toward a small cafe across the street from the building in question. Even if no one showed, at the very least they could get some food out of it.

* * *

"A hundred ninety-nine... two hundred!"

Upon finishing the last push-up, I rolled onto my back and lay there, catching my breath. Simon stood over me with an approving grin.

"Wow, kid, you went through those faster than ever! I think you've earned a break for now."

In spite of how tired I was, I smiled back at the Vampire Killer. It was still hard to do, but the exercises were getting easier all the time, and even the after-workout exhaustion felt different. When I was starting out, it just kind of hurt all over; now it felt almost satisfying—it still hurt, but it was a good kind of hurt, like you get after playing a sport with someone. But most of all, the knowledge of how much progress I was making made all the exertion worth it.

"Do you think it'll be much longer before I'm ready to start going out and around with you guys?"

"Hard to say. We'll see how far you've come in other areas, but it shouldn't be too long at this rate. You've improved a lot since you got here—just don't let it go to your head!"

The hero of Castlevania barked out one of his big laughs, and I couldn't help but laugh with him. All of a sudden, the ship's intercom crackled to life.

 _ **"** **Samus to Chozo. Simon, you there?"**_

He reached over to the intercom to respond. "I read you loud and clear, Samus. Casey and I just finished up some exercises. What's the word on the street?"

 _ **"** ** _I_ nfo on the tablet is hard to come by, but we might have a small lead. It's going to take some time to follow up on, though, so it looks like we'll be here for a while after all. We're meeting at the city's main pokemon center—it's a few blocks south of where you are, so bring Casey with you."**_

"Gotcha. See you when we get there!"

Simon turned off the intercom and looked at me. "Well, kid, ready to hit the streets?"

I must have had one of the single biggest grins ever on my face. Even though I wouldn't be able to go and help the rest of the team on their mission, I could probably get a chance to look around a bit in between training sessions. This was one opportunity I wasn't going to pass up!

As we exited the front doors of the building the ship had landed on, I looked around in excitement. To my dismay, there weren't any visible pokemon—they were probably all in their pokeballs. Before I could voice my dismay, a voice rang out from across the street.

"Holy crap, it IS him! Wow!"

Simon and I turned to see a dark-haired teen about my age with a cyndaquil on his shoulder. He wore a red jacket with black shorts, a backwards cap completing the ensemble.

"And who might you be, kid?"

"Ethan Argento! Man, I never thought I'd meet THE Simon Belmont!"

The Vampire Killer chuckled heartily. "Ha! Looks like I have a fan! Well, I'd love to give you an autograph, kid, but we've got to head off. Hero business."

Ethan turned to me, frowning in confusion. "Wait, 'we'? Who's this?"

That was a little harder to explain. Not wanting to reveal the whole superpowers thing, I decided to just tell a half-truth rather than lie. "My name is Casey. I live in the castle in the Hub, where I do various tasks for the Royal Guard; they noticed me and told me I had potential, so I'm learning from them."

Had Ethan not held it in, the resulting fanboy squee would probably have been audible for miles. "WHOA! You're saying YOU actually get to TRAIN under the Royal Guard?! That's so cool!"

I blushed in embarrassment before getting a closer look at the pokemon on his shoulder. Now it was my turn to squee. "Wow, is that a cyndaquil? I've never seen a real live pokemon before!"

"Wait, never?"

"No, this is my first time coming to this world. I've seen pokemon in books and games, but never in person! What's its name?"

He looked at it with a proud smile. "His name's Pyro. C'mon, buddy, say hi!"

"Quil! Quil!"

That, by the way, was perhaps the single most adorable thing I had ever seen in my entire life. Before I could say anything else, though, Simon interrupted me.

"Y'know, we really ought to be going. The others are waiting for us."

I nodded, but hung my head slightly in disappointment—not only was this my first time seeing a pokemon in person, it was the first time seeing someone my age in this whole adventure as well. Fortunately, Ethan had an idea.

"Hey, if you ever want to meet up, I could give you my address. I could show you around a bit!"

I beamed up at Simon, who sighed in acquiescence. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to get an address. But be quick about it—we've got things to do."

After writing down the address on a small piece of paper and giving it to me, we waved goodbye and set off for the main pokemon center. Inside the center, I saw even more pokemon, of all different shapes and sizes, from a pikachu sitting in its trainer's lap to a Machoke leaning against a wall next to its own trainer. An escalator led up from the main floor to a waiting area, where the others were waiting. Link spoke up first.

"Nice of you two to join us. Without further ado, let's go over what we've found one more time so Simon and Casey can hear."

Rock nodded. "I went to the city archives and searched through various computer databases. I didn't find anything beyond references to an archaeological dig to the east associated with Unown, but that one has been explored up and down—no tablet there."

"While Rock was doing that, I went to the library and looked up as much as I could. Evidently, the tablet itself is considered by most to be just a legend, but it hasn't stopped people from trying to find it in the past with no luck."

Simon frowned. "Wait, I thought you said we had a lead?"

Link nodded. "Yeah, barely. I went to the local university to ask some experts on the subject about it; most of them had no clue, but one in particular was researching the lore surrounding it with the intent of finding it, and may have had a breakthrough. He thinks there's another possible site out there that might have it, but unfortunately, he's been unable to convince the rest of the faculty that his findings are worth checking out, and he doesn't have anywhere near the funding to start a proper archaeological survey. We managed to convince the university to give him a grant, but it'll take a couple of days to process and gather other experts to conduct the survey with him. Once he's got it all together, we'll go along and provide an escort."

"What about a place to stay? Where are we on that?"

Link shook his head. "Unfortunately, we happened to land in the middle of a big tournament weekend, so there aren't enough rooms to go around. We've been trying to find a place with rooms available, but it's slow going."

Simon spoke up with a realization. "Hey, I think we might have a solution to that! Casey, do you still have the address that Ethan kid gave you?"

"Wait, who's Ethan?"

I looked at Rock. "He's a local about my age. We met him outside the building we landed on, and he gave me his address, offering to show me around sometime. Considering he's a huge fan of you guys, I'd say he'll probably be happy to let us stay with his family."

Link considered this for a bit, then smiled and nodded. "Hmm... sounds promising. We don't exactly have any other immediate options. Okay, everyone, let's get going!"

After a brief train ride and a bit of walking, we found the place; it was a moderately-sized two story urban detach, with a small yard and a white picket fence. All in all, it looked pretty average, but not in a bad way. Link rang the doorbell and waited. The door was answered by none other than Ethan, whose eyes went wide as dinner plates upon seeing his guests.

"Hi, you must be Ethan. Can we come in?"

It was super effective. Ethan fainted.

* * *

 _ **I'm so sorry about that last joke. I couldn't resist. Read and review, please!**_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** **_I'm currently taking Prehistoric Archaeology in college right now, so this story arc will actually be somewhat accurate as to how archaeology actually happens IRL as opposed to the movies. SPOILER: It's not at all like the movies._**

* * *

"Ah, Sir Link! What brings you to my household?"

As it turned out, Ethan's father just happened to be the same university professor that Link had spoken to about the Unown Tablet. Dr. Orville Argento was a slight man whose calm and thoughtful demeanor suited his bookish nature; the reading glasses, sweater vest, and carefully parted black hair with graying temples didn't hurt the whole "smart guy" appearance. His eyes gave away the highly professional yet friendly personality behind them, and his gentle chuckle made it impossible not to immediately like the guy.

As Ethan came around from his faint and struggled not to squee forever, Link spoke to the kindly professor with a surprisingly casual tone.

"Sorry to impose on you like this, but we need a place to stay while we wait for the survey to begin, and all the hotels are full up. Casey here met your son earlier and got your address from him, and we thought you might have some room available. Again, we don't mean to intrude, but..."

The archaeologist waved his hand. "No, no, on the contrary, this is an incredible honor for me! The Royal Guard in my home? Ethan here is quite the fan, and I myself would be more than glad to have you here! We have a guest room here that you could use, and I have a futon somewhere around the house. Stay as long as you need to."

Link smiled in response and thanked the professor, neither of them noticing Ethan practically hyperventilating in the background.

Dinner was quite simple, considering the comfortable lifestyle that the Argentos were clearly able to afford: spaghetti and meatballs with a side of garlic bread and a few canned soft drinks (except for Simon and Samus, who each had beer, and Rock, who didn't need to eat due to being a robot). Dr. Argento explained that he didn't have much skill or experience in cooking before his wife passed away, and his job at the university often kept him too busy to try and learn to cook anything besides simple meals like this one. All in all, though, the dinner wasn't bad, and Link managed to regale us with tales of his adventures.

"...then he says these bizarre 'magic' words, then—I swear, I'm not making this up—a huge red balloon pops out of his pack, he floats up into the air, takes out a paper and pen, and starts making another map!"

Laughter reverberated around the table. Even Ethan had calmed down slightly at the stories.

"That said, he was the nicest weird person you'd ever hope to meet. And those maps were amazingly accurate, right down to individual tree stumps. I honestly don't know how I could have gotten along without them."

Dr. Argento chuckled amiably. "Well, he sounds like he would make an excellent archaeologist. Attention to detail and skill in cartography is absolutely vital in this field."

"That reminds me, what exactly do you know about this tablet?"

"A very good question, Mr. Belmont. Sadly, I'm afraid there is very little actual information on it. What _is_ known is that it was supposedly created by the early neolithic Johto culture around three thousand years ago. They were one of the earliest cultures in this world to have developed writing, and their language has only partially been deciphered, but evidently they worshiped the pokemon species commonly referred to as Unown; their burials feature clay totems of these pokemon, and even the aforementioned writing system is based on their appearance. What little we have deciphered concerning the tablet itself are legends that claim the pokemon themselves created the tablet, and that if one were to read from it on the night of a full moon, it would briefly allow one to alter reality itself in a small local area for a limited amount of time. I highly doubt such a thing is true, however, as magic doesn't exist in this particular world."

The members of the Royal Guard didn't appear convinced by that last sentence, but didn't say anything else about it. The professor continued his lecture, and I found myself listening quite intently; history was a favorite subject of mine, and what little I had learned of magic since coming here meant that anything that remotely involved it was of great interest to me. After a while, the grandfather clock in the corner of the dining room struck eight, so after cleaning up we started getting ready for bed.

Rock had brought a rechargeable energy tank from the ship, plugged it into the wall, plugged himself into it, and powered down in the living room; Samus and Simon shared one of the guest rooms, while Link slept on the couch. I myself got the futon, and shared Ethan's bedroom. He and I stayed up for a little bit; I never really had that many friends in my world, so it was refreshing to talk to someone my age.

His room featured various pokemon-related items and furniture, a portable TV, a game console (which I found kind of odd, considering the fact that I was currently in a video game world, though none of the games he had existed in mine), and several posters of Link, Simon, Rock, Protoman, and even Mario—evidently, he had previously been a member of the Royal Guard, but left when Princess Peach stepped down from the Hub throne upon Zelda's coronation as Ruler of Worlds. All in all, your average teenager's room. Well, save for the cyndaquil.

"Hey, that tickles!"

"Quil! Quil!"

The cyndaquil who was currently licking me like a dog. Did I mention that thing was absolutely freaking adorable?

"Wow, he likes you! Funny, he doesn't usually take to strangers this quickly. So, you say you've never seen any pokemon before him?"

I shook my head. "No, like I told you when we met, I've never been to this world before. Heck, I barely left the palace at the Hub. So what's it like, having him around all the time?"

Ethan smiled. "I got him as a gift for my twelfth birthday. It's tricky raising a fire type—for the first couple of years, you either need to put a non-flammable sweater on them or keep them in a fireproof pen until they can control their fire. I didn't like the thought of keeping him penned in, so we went with the former option. That said, once he got it under control, there weren't any problems at all. Around that time we started training for my pokemon journey; he took to it pretty eagerly, actually—isn't that right, buddy?"

The pokemon in question chirped happily. "Cynda cyndaquil!"

Ethan turned back to me, a huge grin on his face. "So tell me, what's it like training under the Royal freaking Guard?"

"HARD. Seriously, they don't mess around. Sparring and exercise in particular are pretty tough; even so, I've kind of grown to like it. Also, Link gave me a green tunic and chain mail like he wears, so there's that."

I beamed with pride while he struggled once again not to freak out at that. "Wow, you officially have the coolest life EVER."

"Well, yeah, it's awesome, but seeing a pokemon is pretty cool to me! I wonder what it'd be like to have one myself?"

Ethan got up, walked over to a chest, and pulled out a pokeball. "I've never used this because I prefer to keep Pyro out with me, but I've kept a few in preparation for the journey. You can have it if you like; who knows, when you go out on the survey with dad, you might run into one!"

I held it in my hands, looking it over in awe before responding. "Wait, you're not coming with us?"

"No. Dad usually takes me with him on his surveys and it's pretty interesting sometimes, but right now me and Pyro are training to go on our journey. Man, I still can't believe we have the Royal Guard staying with us... speaking of which, why are you guys interested in this tablet thing?"

I paused. This was something I KNEW I couldn't share. That said, I didn't want to lie to my new friend either. "Sorry, that's kind of secret. I'd tell you if I could, but I'd get in trouble for it..."

He sulked a bit, but nodded. "I understand. Anyway, it's getting late. I guess we ought to turn in for the night, huh?"

After we turned out the lights, Pyro hopped in bed with Ethan while I slept on the futon. Well, actually, I barely slept at all from the excitement. This was all so new and amazing to me, and I couldn't wait to get started.

* * *

The next day involved preparations for the survey; this entailed a lot of shopping for food, camping supplies, and various other necessities, so as a result training had been called of for the day. Ethan and I were allowed to go out and do some of the shopping, albeit with Simon looking after us. The Vampire Killer, in an attempt to call less attention to himself, borrowed a trenchcoat to go over his armor as he walked around with us.

After a while, Ethan and I noticed a change in Simon's demeanor; his eyes were narrowed slightly, and he kept glancing around as if looking for something. Eventually, he stopped in his tracks and gestured for us to do the same.

"What is it?"

"Don't say anything right now. Follow me into this alley here and I'll tell you."

Ethan and I looked at each other in worry before doing as our guardian said. After a few moments, Simon whispered to us, his tone serious.

"I noticed something a few blocks back. We're being tailed."

"Wait, as in spied on? What do they look like?"

"I believe we can answer that!"

The three of us whipped around to see our shadows; I just about rolled my eyes out of my head at the sight of some of the most annoying characters in the history of fiction.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and—"

"Alright, I've heard enough."

Simon interrupted them by drawing his whip and smacking their pokeballs off their belts in a single, lightning-quick motion.

"Wait, we didn't even get to finish our speech!"

"An' I didn't get ta say my part!"

The Vampire Killer scowled at the three. "Unless you want to be in a lot of pain very quickly, you're going to answer every question I have, and you're not going to give me any of that 'trouble' while you're at it."

"Well, we'd love to, but unfortunately for you we didn't come alone."

No sooner had Jesse of Team Rocket said those words than a team of eight Rocket goons appeared, releasing their pokemon and glaring at us.

"Kids, run and get help! I'll hold them off!"

"But—"

"NO BUTS, CASEY! Don't worry, I can take these idiots. Just get out of here!"

Ethan and I bolted, running as fast as we could through back alleys and side streets. Just when we thought we'd run far enough, however, two Rocket goons leapt out at us, trapping us between them as they released a machoke and a marowak respectively.

"Going somewhere, kids?"

"Hey, look, that one has a cyndaquil! Hand it over, punk!"

Ethan glared at them. "Not a chance! Pyro, Flamethrower!"

"QUIL!"

In an instant, a massive gout of flame shot out of Pyro's mouth toward the marowak and its trainer, both of whom dodged effortlessly. The machoke and its trainer turned toward me, grinning evilly.

"Too bad you don't have a pokemon, kid!"

I didn't want to reveal my powers, and I still didn't quite know how to control them, but I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter. I managed to come up with a suitably badass response.

"I don't need one..."

Visualizing rock, I stretched out my right arm, causing it to glow and change into the mega buster.

"...Not when I have this!"

Ethan whipped around in shock to see my arm cannon. "Wait, how the hell did you do that?!"

The goon's eyes went wide, but to my own surprise and horror, he seemed more intrigued than shocked. But it was what he said that really worried me.

"So it IS true... well, then, I guess it's my lucky day—the boss is offering a hefty prize for capturing you, Gamemaster!"

I didn't have a clue what the grunt was talking about, but I didn't have time to ask questions. The machoke charged at me, pulling its fist back and preparing to knock me into next week. Fortunately, close-quarters training with Simon taught me how to dodge a punch from a larger enemy. I sidestepped the attack and leveled my mega buster at the pokemon's back.

"Take this, jerk!"

A small burst of energy slammed into the fight type, causing it to yelp in pain. Its trainer grabbed me in a bear hug from behind, but I stomped down hard on his foot and followed up with an elbow to the ribcage, causing him to stagger backward.

"Rrgh... you little BRAT! Machoke, use brick break!"

The pokemon turned and swung one of its huge fists at me; this time, it hit home, and I was sent flying. To say it hurt would be a severe understatement; as it was, I found myself unable to stand up fast enough to avoid being grabbed by the machoke and hoisted up into the air by the collar of my shirt.

"Not so tough now, are you, kid? Orders were to take you alive... but they didn't say anything about you being in one piece! Machoke, teach the brat a lesson in manners!"

Not knowing what else to do, I bit down on the pokemon's hand as hard as I could, causing it to drop me. Upon landing, I quickly aimed slightly up, and fired a power shot.

Right to the junk.

The machoke bellowed in pain, grabbing the area in question as I turned back toward its trainer... only to find myself at gunpoint.

"Nice moves, kid. But now you're done."

Meanwhile, Ethan and Pyro were locked in a struggle of their own. The revelation of my power distracted my new friend long enough for the marowak to strike the latter with a bone club, sending the poor fire type flying. Ethan managed to catch the cyndaquil, rolling out of the way of a follow-up blow before throwing Pyro in his opponent's direction.

"Pyro, quick attack!"

The marowak simply dodged, and the Rocket goon laughed as Pyro sailed over his pokemon's head.

"Ha! You missed!"

Ethan smirked. "Wasn't aiming for him! Pyro, just like we practiced!"

The cyndaquil twisted itself as it slammed into the wall and pressed off with its feet, launching itself at the enemy trainer with another quick attack. This time, it hit its actual mark, sending the trainer to the ground with a crash.

"I was saving that for my first gym battle. Never thought I'd test it out on a person, but what the hell. Pyro, flamethrower!"

Before the marowak could turn, the cyndaquil's attack scorched it, burning it enough to cause it to faint.

Its trainer struggled to his feet, recalling his pokemon with a grimace. "Well, you're tougher than I thought, kid. Unfortunately, playtime is over!" The grunt pulled his own gun, pointing it at Ethan.

"Wait, that's not fair!"

"We're criminals, what did you expect, kid? Fighting fair is for children. You're both coming with us, now—"

Suddenly, two grapple beams and a whip pulled me, Ethan and Pyro up onto the roof of one of the single-story buildings that bordered the alley. Samus, Rock, and Simon stood at the ready, Rock having copied the former's grapple beam. Before the dumbstruck enemies could respond, a boomerang flew from the other building, knocking their guns out of their hands before returning to Link. "Not if we can help it!"

The machoke's trainer tried to flee, recalling his pokemon as he did so, only for Samus to use her superhuman agility to leap in front of him before smashing the barrel of her arm cannon into his gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground. His partner also attempted to bolt, but Simon threw a dagger at him in such a way as to cause the hilt to strike him in the back of the head rather than the blade, knocking the grunt out cold.

Link and the others turned their attention to us. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, thanks for rescuing us. I thought we were goners..."

Ethan suddenly remembered what he saw me do, and whipped around with wide eyes. "Wait, that's right, the guy said you were a Gamemaster! What did he mean, and how did you change your arm like that?"

I shrugged in confusion as I changed my arm back to normal. "I don't know what a Gamemaster is, but as for the rest, it's a long story..."

Simon nodded. "Yeah, we can all talk about it once we get back to the house."

* * *

Once we got back, I told Ethan and his dad everything that had happened so far. In addition, Ethan and I both described the fight in detail to the others; they took it all in for a moment, after which Link spoke calmly and plainly.

"Well, it seems we're going to have to be twice as careful from here on out. We thought the enemy were just after the artifacts, but if they're all after Casey as well, things just got a lot more complicated."

I asked the question that was foremost in my mind. "One of those two said I was a Gamemaster. Do any of you know what that is? Because I sure don't."

Simon shook his head. "Doesn't ring a bell. If I had to guess, it probably refers to people from your world. Question is, if you're such a threat to them, why did they want you alive?"

Rock turned to him with a serious expression. "It doesn't matter right now. What matters is that we're going to have to keep Casey practically glued to us from now on."

"Not to disagree with you, Rock," Samus said, "But from what these two said, Casey did pretty well back there. He's still definitely nowhere near ready to defend himself on his own, but considering how well he did today I'd say he might be ready to start accompanying us more often."

The Blue Bomber looked cautiously at Samus. "Are you sure about that, Samus? He still has a long way to go..."

Link shook his head. "No, she's right. We can't coddle him forever. Casey, you'll still have to stay close to us, and considering what happened today it won't be a good idea for you to go ANYWHERE without all of us present for a good while. That said, from now on you'll be allowed to join us in smaller engagements. But if we tell you to run or hide, you do that IMMEDIATELY. Is that clear?"

I nodded in understanding. "Crystal, sir."

"Good. As for you, Ethan, you and Pyro did good yourselves; if you'd like, you can come with us on the survey. We might even help you and Pyro train for your pokemon journey while we're at it! How does that sound?"

It was super effective. Ethan fainted again.

* * *

 _ **Yes, I know, I did the same joke again. But seriously, if you were in his shoes, don't tell me you wouldn't do the same damn thing. Leave a review if you have the time!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** **_Once again, some of the archaeology in this chapter is more or less accurate to how it's done IRL, save for the part involving finding the tablet._**

* * *

"Is everyone here? Very well, I'll start the final brief."

The next day found all of us at the university in a room packed with people from many different areas of research; there were experts in architecture, biology, botany, anthropology, geology, and a whole bunch of other -ologies to boot. And all of them were listening to Dr. Argento with rapt attention as he stood in front of a map of the region, which just went to show how respected he was in his own field.

"Based on satellite imagery and study of ancient records, I have concluded that a major Johto culture settlement may be found somewhere in this area," he said, pointing to a section of the map just a few miles north of the city. "From what I have studied of the aforementioned records, I believe that this settlement was part of a major religious complex of great importance—in fact, the primary religious and ritual center for the entire region. I don't think I need to tell anyone here how important this discovery could be; so little is known about the actual ritual practices of the neolithic in this region, despite their written language."

The bespectacled man gestured to Link. "On a side note, I know you're probably wondering why the Royal Guard is present for this. The reason is one that everyone here ought to know before coming on this survey: Team Rocket has displayed an interest in this survey. I believe that their goal is no less than the stripping of the site of all artifacts to sell on the black market; the Royal Guard have themselves been investigating Team Rocket recently, and thus will be accompanying us on this survey as an escort."

He let that sink in for a few moments, watching as the scholars filling the room whispered worryingly among each other before continuing, a grave tone filling his voice. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it; their desire for this site is such that they attacked my son and his friend here in broad daylight. They were lucky enough to escape unharmed, but there is no guarantee that we will not encounter them on this survey, even with the Royal Guard present. If anyone is put off by this, feel free to leave now. I would not ask anyone to come if they thought the danger not worth the reward.

Though there were concerned murmurs and furrowed brows, no one left. Dr. Argento smiled happily, gratitude on his face. "That said, I have no reason to doubt that this site will be among the most significant finds in recent memory. The discovery of the decade... no, perhaps even the entire century! So, if you're willing to take this chance to be a part of an expedition for the history books, grab your gear and your pokemon, and we'll be off!"

As the people in the room hurried along with their final preparations, Link approached the professor, speaking in a whisper. "Black market?"

He chuckled slightly in response. "Well, I couldn't tell them what Rocket was really after. Besides, there's very little that motivates archaeologists besides the threat of damaged artifacts."

Grabbing our own bags of camping supplies, we made our way to the outskirts of the city along with the rest of the survey team; once we got there, practically everyone took out a pokeball or two and released pokemon to assist them on the trip. A number of tauros and rhydons served as pack animals, while a couple of people climbed onto their spearows to help search from above. A machamp carried bags of equipment in each of its four arms, while those pokemon who couldn't carry equipment or people served as additional guards for the expedition. Once everyone was ready, we started off toward the area where the site could possibly be found.

As we traveled, Samus walked alongside me for a bit, looking down at me with a concerned expression.

"I don't think I need to say this, Casey, but I'll say it anyway: be prepared for anything. If Rocket tried once, they'll try again."

"Weren't you the one who said I was ready to fight with you guys?"

"I said you were ready to accompany us in small fights. You're still not ready to defend yourself on your own. With that in mind, I'd like to teach you a little trick about observation that should come in handy."

I tilted my head a bit in confusion. "What does that have to do with fighting?"

"Everything. If you can read your enemy, you're halfway to beating them. Body language in particular is key. For the rest of the trip, I want you to pick a stranger in the team, then just watch their hands and feet; focus on odd tics and their manner of walking in particular, but ignore their face and their clothing. Once we get to the site, try and pick them out of the crowd based on their body language alone; this is a good way to train your ability to spot small details that others might miss."

I nodded obediently, then began searching the crowd for someone to settle on.

* * *

Once we got to the area, the large group of people split into teams and walked in an odd formation, spaced in regular intervals and traveling at roughly the same slow walking pace, examining the ground carefully as they did so. This went on for about an hour before we heard someone shouting.

"Dr. Argento, I found something!"

We ran over to see an excited-looking scientist standing over a strange outline in the ground; it definitely wasn't natural, as it was in the shape of a rectangle with roughly even sides. At first, it looked like a simple dirt pile arranged in that shape, but closer inspection showed that it was, in fact, a mud brick structure protruding from beneath the surface of the ground.

"Great work, Dr. Markov. Alright people, we'll plot everything from here—let's get started!"

Upon that note, the team began walking in a grid pattern from that point, some of them trailing a cord behind them to mark the grid lines while others stood in place with a tripod and surveying equipment, examining the landscape for odd structures. It didn't take long for other buried structures to be found, and not long after that, people and pokemon alike began to VERY carefully begin the actual excavation, taking great care not to damage anything in the process. Within a few hours, a large number of mud brick walls had been revealed; the walls were covered in carved decorations, abstract imagery including mostly wavy lines and circles, and of course, carved text based on unown. For a stone-age civilization, whoever built this place definitely had a sense of style.

As I watched the excavation continue, I heard a sound from the bushes on the edge of the dig site; walking carefully in that direction, I saw, to my surprise, a very familiar pokemon.

"Pika pi?"

The little electric mouse perked up briefly, but didn't notice me and went back to eating a berry. Suddenly, I remembered the pokeball Ethan gave me the day before, removing it from my belt pouch. I could barely contain my excitement; I was about to catch a real live pokemon, and a pikachu at that!

"PIKA! PIKA PI!"

Before I could throw it, it noticed me, whipping around with its cheeks sparking. Without warning, it launched a bolt of electricity in my direction, which I barely managed to dodge; I shifted my arm into the mega buster and prepared to fire... but hesitated. I couldn't attack this thing; it was just defending itself. I calmly lowered my arm and changed it back, and spoke calmly.

"I'm not gonna hurt you... take it easy..."

The pokemon still gave off sparks, but didn't run or attack. I took out a snack bar I had brought with me on the trip and held it out.

"Hey, you still hungry? Try this!"

It cautiously walked over and sniffed the bar, then backed away a bit again. I took a small bite of the bar, then handed it out again.

"See? It's just food. Come on, you might like it!"

The pikachu approached again, then took a cautious nibble... then snatched it out of my hands and began devouring it at a rapid pace.

"See? I'm not a bad guy!"

It finished the bar and looked up at me expectantly.

"You want more? Well, then, you'll have to get in this!"

I held out the pokeball. It regarded the device for a moment, then looked back at me.

"I don't have any more with me right now, but there's a bunch more back at camp. Don't worry, I'm not a bad guy!"

After a few moments of silence, it practically smiled at me.

"Pika pikachu!"

I smiled back, then activated the ball and captured it. I nearly jumped for joy—I had actually caught a pokemon on my first try! Before I could truly celebrate, however, I heard shouting from the dig.

"Dr. Argento, you've got to come and see this! It's amazing!"

Running in that direction, I saw practically the entire expeditionary team standing over an altar-like structure with a carved stone seal covering what was obviously the entrance to some underground chamber. Argento knelt to examine the seal further, reading it carefully. Suddenly, his eyes went wide as dinner plates. "This... this is..."

Link came running up to the professor, concern on his face. "What is it? What did you find?"

Argento read from the seal. "'To you who find this chamber, we who came before you buried here our most sacred and accursed treasure, that which we worshiped, that which we cherished, that which brought about our rise, then our fall..."

He looked up at Link, who nodded in understanding. "We've just found the hiding place of the Unown Tablet!"

Link turned to face the crowd. "Alright everyone, stand back. We're going to have to open this. We don't know what might be under there, so until we check it out, you'll need to wait before you excavate any further here. Samus, use the scan visor in your helmet to check the structural integrity of the place, then I'll send Casey below after you. Dr. Argento, you can follow behind them once they confirm it's safe."

The seal was carefully removed and gently placed on the ground next to the altar; Samus climbed into the hole, was silent for a few moments, then waved to us to come down with her. As I descended into the chamber with a flashlight in hand, I saw that the wall was covered in intricate carvings and pictures which told a story of sorts.

An image of priests holding the tablet to the sky, a full moon above their heads. Strange abstract shapes, no doubt representing magic, swirled and wove in front of the priests as other figures knelt in supplication. The next frieze showed figures constructing impressive and elaborate structures with the aid of countless unown, the tablet secure in the hands of a priest. Then came a much more disturbing image; a strange shapeless mass looming over the crumbling city, subjects alike fleeing in terror as a priest desperately held the tablet out toward the mass, an expression of defiance on his face. Finally, a picture of the city in ruins, the tablet being buried under an altar with care.

As we progressed through the chamber, we came upon an altar similar to the one covering the chamber, only this one was solid... and upon it, a simple stone tablet sat on display. This was our prize. Argento practically beamed.

"There it is... the Unown Tablet..."

Removing heavy cloth from his pack, the professor carefully picked up the tablet, laid it on the cloth, and wrapped it up before proceeding to carry it out to the surface. The crowd that had gathered looked at the discovery with astonishment. This was, indeed, the find of the century as far as they were concerned.

Later, we decided to take a break to discuss what we had found. While Dr. Argento was understandably excited about all of this, he and everyone else were uneasy about one thing in particular.

"So why hasn't Team Rocket tried anything yet? If they're that desperate to get their hands on this..."

"If I had to guess," Samus responded, "it would be the opposition. They already lost badly against us earlier; With so many other people around, all with their own pokemon, they wouldn't stand a chance in a direct assault. Odds are, they're going to be more subtle about this—the best time to steal it would be at night, probably. Even with people taking shifts, professional criminals like them wouldn't have much difficulty getting past civilians."

Ethan spoke up next. "But you guys are the Royal Guard! If they come, why don't you just stick around the tablet all night? They can't beat you!"

"Like I said, they're not just going to smash their way through. They'll probably use some combination of stealth and trickery, and while we're not exactly amateurs at spotting that, a skilled enough infiltrator or con could still do it."

Link looked at the bounty hunter. "So, what strategy would you suggest?"

"Fight fire with fire. We know what they're after, and we have a good idea of how they're probably going to have to go about it. But we still don't know what the enemy wants this for, and besides," she paused, turning to me. "There are still things we don't know about Casey's powers, and they obviously know more than us. This could be our chance to understand our enemy."

Dr. Argento stood up, a look of protest on his face. "Are you suggesting we use the tablet as _bait?!_ "

"Yes."

A long pause filled the air. I broke it with a question of my own.

"Wait, they're also after me. Am I going to be bait here too?"

"The kid's right. We put him out in the open, we put him in danger he might not be ready for."

"Simon, I'm not suggesting we just leave him on his own here. We'll have to be close anyway—if they see him or the tablet completely unguarded, they'll know something's up."

The professor interjected again. "That tablet is an important piece of history, and it belongs in a museum! We can't just risk it like that—"

Link spoke firmly. "That tablet, Dr. Argento, is a potentially dangerous artifact that the enemy wants to get their hands on. And remember the inscription on the seal? The carvings on the wall of that vault? Whatever powers it has are just too dangerous to be left in a museum somewhere. It needs to be secured. I'm sorry, but that's just how it has to be. I don't like putting Casey in this situation either, but we don't have a choice here. Casey, are you up for this?"

I nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be. Besides," I held out the pokeball to them. "they don't know about this!"

* * *

That night, three shadows slipped through the camp. Keeping a careful eye on the members of the Royal Guard as they patrolled the area around the tent where the tablet was kept, they quietly entered to see me sitting on the ground next to it with my back to them.

"Well well well, looks like we hit the jackpot!"

I whipped around with the best "scared" face I could muster to see who it was. And once again, I had to struggle not to roll my eyes. Jesse, James, and Meowth stood in front of me.

"Don't try ta scream, brat! We're takin' da tablet, and den we're takin' you!"

I fingered the pokeball behind my back. "W-what do you want ME for?"

Jesse laughed. "That's for the boss to know and you to find out! Now come along quietly, and no powers... or we'll have to radio our friend to kill the other brat and his father!"

I froze. Since when did these guys become competent? They were complete morons in the show!

"Wait, don't! I'll come with you... but if I just disappear outright, the others will know something's up. You'll never make it out of here alive if that happens. If you promise not to hurt Ethan and Dr. Argento, I can make the Royal Guard go away."

They considered it for a few moments before replying. "Deal. But we'll be watching. You try anything stupid, your friends are dead!"

I slowly walked out of the tent and spied Samus. I had to be subtle about this, and if anyone would be able to figure out what I needed to tell them without me saying it out loud, it would be her. I slowly walked up to her.

"Hey, Casey. What are you doing out here?"

"Thought I heard something out that way," I said, pointing toward the forest. "I stuck my head out of the _tent_ and saw _someone_ moving out there. Looks like _trouble._ " I made sure to make the emphasis as subtle as possible. She got a look in her eyes before responding in a similar manner.

"You think they might be trying to get at the _tablet_?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, I'll keep the _tablet safe._ But if we confront them in the ruins, any fighting might _threaten_ the ruins, and you know _Dr. Argento_ won't be happy about that."

She nodded in understanding. "Good job spotting that. Capturing one of them could finally give us the _lead_ over the _enemy_. Simon and I will search around the _outside_ of the ruins. In the meantime, _Link_ will be around somewhere, probably with _Argento_ , so he should be close by if you need a _rescue_. Just sit tight for now, okay?"

I nodded back before returning to the trio, internally praying that they didn't notice the code as Samus went off. Fortunately, they seemed convinced, and Jesse smirked evilly at me.

"Well, looks like you have some brains after all, kid. Good work. Now just stay quiet, and no one gets hurt."

After they got the tablet, we made our way silently out of the camp; once we got a safe distance away, a mechanical sound came from behind the three Rocket members, who turned to see Samus pointing her arm cannon at their heads just as Simon came from the opposite direction.

"Friendly tip: don't move if you want to keep your head."

"Kill us, and Argento and his brat are dead!"

"Somehow I doubt that you'll be able to signal whoever you have lined up for the job before I get a shot off on you. Now put the tablet down SLOWLY."

Jesse complied, laying it down at Samus' feet. The latter then turned to me.

"Casey, are you okay?"

I sighed in relief. "Yeah, I'm good for now. Did you tell Link about Argento?"

"Yeah, he's going over there as we speak. They won't come to harm with him around."

James growled a bit in frustration. "You think you've won? You have us, but just like last time, we didn't come alone!"

A large explosion came from the opposite side of the ruins, causing all of us to turn in surprise, at which point Jesse and James released their pokemon to attack us as a large number of Rocket grunts and their own pokemon leapt out of the woods nearby.

As the other two began to fight, a poliwrath shot a water gun at me, and I barely avoided being hit. I attempted to change my arm, but the glow faded without effect, leaving me panting in exhaustion. I was confused at first, then remembered that I had activated it earlier when I caught that pikachu. In near-panic, I wondered what I could do without my only means of attack, before remembering something important.

 _Wait. Pikachu!_

Whipping the pokeball out and tossing it, I prayed the little electric-type would be willing to help me. It appeared in a flash of light, cheeks already sparking.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!"

The pokemon, to my surprise, understood and actually complied, a huge bolt of lightning striking the enemy water type for massive damage and sending it flying. Before I could congratulate the pokemon, I saw a rocket grunt trying to reach the tablet before anyone could stop him; not knowing what else to do, I leapt toward it, grabbing it just in time to stop him from stealing it. At that instant, the full moon peeked through the clouds in the sky, shining down on the tablet. All of a sudden, a bright glow came from the artifact, blinding me.

* * *

"Ugh... where am I?"

I found myself floating in a black, empty void, with no one and nothing in sight. A booming voice rang in my head.

 **"** **Well, this was unexpected."**

"Who's there?!"

 **"** **How intriguing, that the tablet reacted to you without you needing to read it. That must have something to do with you being the new Gamemaster."**

"What the hell is a Gamemaster? And who the hell are you?"

 **"** **Heh, haven't you figured it out, yet? I'm your enemy. And you just weakened the seal on my prison. Thank you for that, by the way—I doubt that Giovanni would have been very forthcoming with that tablet anyway without the proper incentive to hand it over. Keep it if you wish; I have no more use for it. Enjoy your little adventure while it lasts."**

"Wait, _WHAT?!_ "

* * *

All of a sudden, I was back where I stood before, watching as Team Rocket fled into the woods as Simon watched, confusion on his face.

"Wait, why are they running? They weren't exactly losing..."

"Because they got what they wanted already..."

The Vampire Killer turned to me, along with Samus. "What do you mean?"

I looked down at the tablet in my hands. "I think I just screwed up really bad..."

* * *

 _ **Wouldn't YOU like to know? Read and review!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** **_Last chapter of the arc and setup of the next one. If you want to see our heroes travel to a game universe, make your suggestions before the end of this coming arc so I can work out the details!_**

* * *

As it turned out, Ethan and his dad had been watched over by a Team Rocket plant within the expedition. Link reached them just in the nick of time; when all the fighting started, the spy took it as his time to strike, but quickly found a blade held perilously close to his neck. It didn't take long for him to surrender after that. Unfortunately for him, we still had some unanswered questions, which is why he was currently tied to a pole in a tent with the members of the Royal Guard surrounding him.

"If you think I'm gonna tell you anything, you're wasting your time. I don't know nothin' that could help you, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!"

"Well, normally we'd believe that. After all," Rock said, staring intently at the grunt, "you're obviously not that high up on the totem pole in your organization. Guys as low as you generally aren't told anything anyway. But that's not the case here. We know this because on both occasions when you attacked us, some low-level idiot like you made comments about information that we don't have. For example... the term 'Gamemaster'. If you weren't told anything, you wouldn't use that kind of title. Your boss would just describe the individual in question and give orders to capture, and not much else. They wouldn't give you a title if you didn't already know how to spot the person it applied to. So as stupid as you are, don't pretend you're completely ignorant."

I could have sworn the guy flinched at the sheer condescension coming from the blue robot's tone. Even so, he didn't say anything in response. Rock leaned in close.

"So, mind telling us what a 'Gamemaster' is, and why your employer wants you to capture him?"

"Get bent."

Rock nodded a bit, then looked at Simon. "Well, I tried. Simon, your turn."

The Vampire Killer took full advantage of his height and strength, lifting the poor sap off his feet by the collar with one freaking hand and glaring at him.

"Care to rethink your answer? Or should I start breaking things?"

The man was definitely intimidated, but not overly frightened.

"You think you scare me? There's nothing you idiots can do to me that'd be worse than what the boss would do to me if I told you anything."

A deeper glare from Simon. "Are you sure about that? Because those legs of yours look pretty fragile to me. Be a shame if you couldn't walk anymore."

The man kept his mouth shut and glared back. Finally, Samus rolled her eyes and stepped forward, looking at the rest of us.

"Ugh, typical men. You don't have a clue how to interrogate someone. Give us some time alone, would you?"

We all exited the tent, leaving Samus and the Rocket grunt alone together. After a grand total of ten seconds, we heard a terrified voice cry out from inside.

"OKAY! OKAY! I'LL TALK!"

Samus swaggered out of the tent with a smirk on her face, looking at Simon and Rock. "All yours, boys."

I turned to the latter, recalling his mechanically-enhanced senses. "So, did you hear what she said to him?"

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

He shook his head, a somewhat frightened look on his face. "Nothing I really want to repeat out loud."

I made a mental note to myself to never, ever, ever anger Samus Aran as we re-entered the tent to continue the questioning.

* * *

We later found ourselves sitting around the dining table at the Argento household for breakfast, the Unown Tablet resting in front of Dr. Argento.

"So you're allowing us to keep it after all?"

Link nodded. "Yeah. Whatever the enemy wanted it for, they don't need it anymore. And while it probably still holds some secrets, without Team Rocket after it the safest place for it might be in the hands of a scholar who knows how delicate these things are, and who won't just experiment on it without thinking it through. Good thing we know at least one, isn't it?"

The professor smiled back. "Indeed! Don't worry, Goldenrod University is always careful with this sort of thing. Whatever secrets it holds, we'll study in as safe a manner as possible; you can rest easy on that. And if we uncover anything that might help you, we'll be sure to contact you with the details."

Dr. Argento turned to his son next. "Also, thank you, Sir Link, for keeping me and Ethan safe from harm. I can't believe that they infiltrated our expedition so flawlessly. If it weren't for you..."

Link shook his head. "No need for thanks. I was only doing my job. So, Ethan, you still plan on going on your journey after all of this excitement?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I am! Pyro and I didn't do much here, but with a little more training, I know we can make it. Heck, just meeting you guys and seeing you in action got me pumped for it! Besides," the pokemon trainer said, looking at me, "once this is all over, I might have some competition in the pokemon department! Have you given it a name yet?"

I looked down at the pokeball in my hands. "I think I'll call him Sparks. It's as good a name for a pikachu as any, right?"

Link smiled before motioning for us to stand up. "Well, with that out of the way, we ought to be going. It was an honor working with you, Dr. Argento."

"No, no, the honor is definitely all mine. Good luck on your mission!"

Before we could leave, Ethan ran up to the five of us, rubbing the back of his head nervously with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Wait. Before you go... can I maybe... get an autograph from one of you?..."

"How about one from all of us?"

Simon held out a pokeball toward Ethan covered in signatures and well-wishes from each member of the Royal Guard.

It was super effective. Ethan fainted.

* * *

"I assume the lack of a tablet is a sign that this debriefing will bear somewhat unpleasant news?"

"I'm afraid so, Your Highness."

We returned to the palace at the Hub without incident, where Princess Zelda awaited our return. After a brief rest, we gathered around the table in the war room for the after-action report; Link, as leader of the Royal Guard, took the floor.

"On one hand, we managed to discover new information about the nature of our enemy, as well as what they're after. On the other, sadly, this enemy may be far more deadly than we initially conceived."

The Hero of Hyrule spoke with a grave tone. "We still know very little about them, but here is what we've pieced together. Evidently, some ancient evil was sealed away ages ago, around the time of the last individual of Casey's people to come to our world. Nothing is known for sure, even by the enemy forces, but what _is_ known is that while it can't escape its prison on its own, it was able to contact one individual in particular through telepathy and magic. This individual serves as the go-between and the de facto leader of all the enemy forces in the multiverse—and you'll never guess who it is."

Zelda narrowed her eyes. "Ganondorf."

"I'm afraid so. After our last fight, I thought for sure he was gone for good. But it turns out he just has a new friend, and that friend offered to give unlimited power to anyone willing to break it free from its prison. Ganondorf then contacted some of the worst scum in the multiverse, and together they all serve as a sort of war council. Together, they're trying to gather together all of these artifacts with the intent of releasing their boss from his prison, wherever that is. Casey inadvertently activated one, but according to the Team Rocket member we interrogated, the seal wasn't as weakened as it would have been had it been taken to the site of the prison. That, plus the fact that they're only working together out of self-interest, at least gives us a VERY slight advantage."

"As for Casey," he said, gesturing to me, "they referred to him as a 'Gamemaster'. Evidently, it refers to his people, though I'm not entirely sure of the significance of the term itself. But the last of his people to come to our world was the original 'Gamemaster', and considering the fact that this particular individual was responsible for sealing the enemy away to begin with, I suspect their reason for wanting him alive has to do with that."

"Have we any idea of WHERE this ancient evil was sealed?"

"No. Only the top-tier members of the organizations making up the enemy's army know that."

Zelda furrowed her brow in thought for a while before turning to Samus. "Do you have any thoughts on our strategy from here on out?"

The bounty hunter shook her head. "Not much beyond what we're already doing, Ma'am. For now, the best we can do is try and stay one step ahead of them, but aside from that, we definitely need to find out more about this whole thing. I'd suggest you set as many eggheads as you can find and get them researching the legends connected to all of this, no matter how far-fetched. Lack of information is why they've been ahead of us for so long, and if we can learn more about the nature of the enemy, we might be able to find a way to turn these artifacts against it. If they can open seals, it stands to reason they can close seals as well. Our next target is the Fire Emblem, in Ylisse."

The Princess nodded in approval. "Very well. I shall make the arrangements with our scholars; please send Exalt Chrom my warmest regards. As for our Gamemaster... Casey, I would like you to step up your training, especially your shapeshifting abilities. Try and see if you can extend the number of times you can use your powers, and perhaps try to find a way to gain new ones."

"I'll do my best, Your Highness."

"Good. On that note, this debriefing is hereby adjourned."

* * *

"Sparks, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika...CHUUUUUUUUU!"

A surge of electricity shot towards me as I held out my right hand, an open book in the other. To my surprise, I successfully 'caught' the lightning using what little magic I had managed to learn.

"Wow, I actually did iiIIIIIIIIIT!"

Until I lost control and got a shock for it. Lucky for me the attack was non-lethal.

"Ugh... I was sure I had it that time..."

"I hope you are not overly straining yourself."

I turned around to see Zelda standing in the doorway to the library. "Is there something you want, Your Highness?"

"Samus told me about your actions on the mission. You displayed quick thinking and a concern for the safety of others; this was a clear contrast to the incident in Hyrule."

"So, does this mean I'm not grounded anymore?"

She smiled warmly as she approached. "Indeed. I believe you have more than earned your privileges back. But that is not all I came to discuss."

I looked at her in confusion as she sat down next to me. "What else is there to talk about?"

Her smile faded, replaced by a sad expression. "I fear that my attempts to find a means of getting you home have failed for now. I know you have more pressing concerns, and that we need your power to save the multiverse, but I thought you deserved to know."

I had almost forgotten about that, but upon hearing those words my heart sank. As amazing as this all was, I still wanted to be able to go back after it was all over. To my surprise, though, despite my grief, I didn't cry. Deep down, I still had hope that I might see my family again, but at the same time the more realistic side of me knew that if Princess Zelda couldn't find a way, that way might not exist.

"So what now? What happens if we win and it turns out I'm stuck here?"

"That is what I came to discuss, in fact. In that event, we would be willing to let you stay with us on a more permanent basis, and not simply as a member of the Royal Guard."

I perked up, not sure what was being said. "What do you mean?"

"Though you are brave, you're still young, and it would be irresponsible of us to allow one as young as you to go without a home or a family. After this is all done, my time as Ruler of Worlds will have passed, and I will have to return to Hyrule with Link. Between the two of us, Link and I plan to wed after this war is complete; we would be willing to take you in ourselves, should you desire it. You would not technically be royalty, but at the very least you would have a home. Does that appeal to you?"

I reeled from the weight of the offer. This wasn't something I could accept lightly; my real family, my real mom and dad, were still waiting for me in my old world. At the same time, though, I didn't like the idea of suddenly being alone after it was all through in the event I couldn't go back. The future itself was uncertain, and I had no idea whether or not I'd even survive long enough to have to worry about all of that. In the end, though, there was only one right answer.

"I'll think about it..."

She smiled approvingly. "Wise words."

* * *

 **UNKNOWN LOCATION**

Ganondorf knelt before the shapeless black form. This was the extent to which his benefactor could directly affect the world, and even then it could only occur for brief periods in this location alone.

"Our forces are making final preparations for the invasion of Ylisse. With any luck, we should be able to move within the week."

 **"Perfect. I must say, you've done quite well so far!"**

"Thank you. You do me far too much honor."

 **"Ha. As if you can fool me with that act."**

Ganondorf frowned before grudgingly accepting the point. "My apologies. I often fail to realize that there are still those who cannot be affected by charisma. There are so many weak-willed fools in the multiverse I almost forget what it is like to converse with one of my own intellectual level."

 **"Just as long as you remember which of us is more powerful. I know you better than you know yourself, Ganondorf. Don't even think about betraying me as you do everyone else!"**

"So long as you maintain your end of the bargain, it won't come to that; you still need us to set you free. And with that, I am off to see to 'your' army."

As the Gerudo sorcerer left the chamber, the black shape hung in the air for a few moments before dissipating with one last unheard comment.

 **"I may need you less than you think, fool."**

* * *

 _ **I couldn't resist adding some heartwarming stuff in the middle there. Also, I would have done Marth, but I never played the remake of his game and the original was Japan-only. Besides, Fire Emblem Awakening was awesome.**_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** **_This is being written as part of a 20-minute creative sprint courtesy of LaurenTheFlute. Look up her twitch channel, she is a spectacular musician! As for this chapter, yes, it will have the avatar from Fire Emblem: Awakening. However, it will NOT be the default avatar. I have two avatars of my own in that game, one male, one female; this will be the latter, and her appearance is based on the one I chose for the game. I'll be using "Robin" as her name instead of my avatar's, though. Also, there will naturally be HUGE spoilers for that game, so if you haven't played it yet, you have only yourself to blame._**

* * *

I waited excitedly for the _Chozo_ to land, eager to see what the world of Fire Emblem held in store for me. Considering that it was a "swords and sorcery" type setting, I was especially excited to see what I could learn about magic and swordplay there. Not only did you have Chrom, a descendant of Marth, you had Robin, an incredible magic-wielder and master strategist; between the two of them, I was sure I could learn quite a bit.

The ship landed in the courtyard of Castle Ylisse; as the loading ramp lowered, I walked right next to Link, proudly wearing my green tunic; hopefully, being identified as his apprentice would make it more likely for Chrom or Robin to be willing to work with me. Waiting for us at the ramp was none other than Frederick, the most badass butler since Alfred in Batman. The stern knight was about as big as Simon, but with a much more stoic demeanor as befitting a butler.

"Greetings, knights of the Royal Guard, and welcome to Ylisse. I am Sir Frederick of Ylisstol. I must say, it is indeed an honor to meet such esteemed individuals such as yourselves."

Link nodded. "Likewise, Sir Frederick. I've heard quite a bit about you as well; your reputation precedes you."

The knight returned the nod, never leaving his ramrod-straight posture, even as he looked in my direction. "Who might this be? He seems quite young for a Royal Guardsman."

I had to struggle not to react to that comment. Fortunately, Link answered for me. "This is Casey. He isn't a member of the Royal Guard, but he _is_ my apprentice. I hope his presence won't bother you?"

Frederick shook his head. "Not at all. Now if you will follow me, Exalt Chrom and Queen Robin await you in the throne room."

We were lead through lavishly-decorated halls until we reached the massive throne room, where the two protagonists of Fire Emblem Awakening sat. Chrom was dressed in shimmering white formal-wear armor, his signature sword Falchion at his side; Robin wore a black-and-red robe that complimented her tall frame, her short-cut dark red hair, and her calm eyes. Standing at either side of the royal pair were their children from the future (it's complicated), Morgan and Lucina. The latter's present-day counterpart, still an infant, lay in her mother's lap. I wondered how they would explain that to the kid once she got old enough...

"Well hello, Link. It's been some time, hasn't it?"

Link nodded to the blue-haired king, speaking in a surprisingly casual tone, considering he was talking to royalty. "Yeah, last time we met was just before the war with Valm—one of the best sparring sessions I've ever had, honestly. I don't think I ever had to work that hard in a straight-up sword fight."

"Oh, don't be so humble. You're still one of the best swordsmen alive," Chrom said with a chuckle before turning to me. "I'm assuming based on his uniform that this newcomer is your student?"

He nodded. "Yeah. He's got a long way to go, but he has a lot of natural talent."

"If he's training under you, he must have. Well, don't be shy, introduce yourself—I don't bite!"

I bowed deeply. In spite of remembering him from a game, I was pretty overwhelmed by the presence he had. "My name is Casey Kendall. It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness."

The ruler of Ylisse smiled and chuckled lightly. "There's no need to be so formal. I've never been one for excessive manners, anyway."

At that, his wife snorted loudly as she tried to stifle her laughter; he turned back toward her with a hilariously put-out expression. "What?"

Robin spoke with an amused tone. "I think that sentence would be a little more accurate if you removed the word 'excessive', Chrom."

He shook his head in slight embarrassment and gestured toward his family. "Might I introduce my wife Robin, my son Morgan, and my daughters, Marta and Lucina."

 _So that's how they're going to deal with future!Lucina... also, naming her after Marth is pretty clever._

The royal heirs didn't say anything, instead smiling and nodding. Robin looked on with a smile of her own. "I'm pleased to meet all of you. What brings you all here?"

Link explained the situation, including my powers and my situation. Chrom's demeanor shifted almost instantly from a friendly warrior to a serious king; Robin displayed a similarly severe expression, obviously going into "strategy mode". Once explanations were done with, the former turned to Frederick and spoke in the stern voice of a commander.

"Frederick, inform the Shepherds that they are to be combat ready as soon as possible. Also, have the army on standby."

"Shall I inform them that we are once again at war?"

"No, don't tell them anything just yet. Let them know there is a potential threat, and that they need to be prepared for anything, but until we know more, we ought to brace ourselves rather than march out without thinking. Once Robin comes up with a strategy, we'll call a war meeting to discuss it. For now, just tell them to be ready."

"It shall be done at once, My Lord."

The stoic knight bowed and took his leave. Once he was gone, Chrom looked over all of us with a smile. "Well, until we come up with a war plan, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to help all of you settle in for now; the servants will show you to the staterooms. By the way, Link, Casey, please meet me in the training yard after you unpack. I'm interested in seeing what you're both capable of!"

I soon found myself standing in the training yard along with Link, Chrom, and future!Lucina—er, Marta.

"Casey, how much has Link taught you?"

I answered Chrom's question with some embarrassment. "Not much besides the basics so far, Your Highness. We've been really busy lately. I was hoping to learn some more while I was here, maybe even study a little more magic as well.

"Well then, you're in the right place. Take up that practice sword and shield from the rack there; Marta will test you a bit, and we'll see just where you're at."

I grabbed the items in question and got into my best ready stance, but was already intimidated by the princess of Ylisse as she leveled her wooden practice blade at me.

"BEGIN!"

I began with a few simple thrusts, which Lucina easily batted aside before countering with a light chop to my left side. I barely got my shield up in time to deflect the blow and respond with a quick sword cut to her own flank. To my shock, not only did my attack not hit, she had leapt clear over my head from a standing position and in one swift motion made a wide arc with her blade at my back. I rolled forward, turning around as I got to my feet, only to immediately find myself desperately defending against her impeccable blade work. Just as I found myself backed into the wall, she immediately sheathed the practice blade and gave a slight bow, which I returned nervously.

It was obvious that I was not even a gnat compared to her level of skill. My dismay at this must have been written all over my face, because Lucina smiled gently at me, speaking in a reassuring tone. "Hey, don't feel too bad. You did well for a beginner. Link definitely hammered the basic footwork into you pretty well, considering how little time you must have had to train."

I felt my face go beet-red at her praise. I wasn't sure whether it was from the compliment or her smile, but either way, it led to me babbling like a moron. "W-well, I, um... g-guess I just had a good teacher...? Or something..."

Both Link and Chrom both laughed very loudly at my response. The former turned to Chrom, still recovering from his amusement. "Well, that's an interesting compliment. I hope you don't mind it if I let him work with your daughter a little more while he's here?"

"Not at all. And from the looks of it, I don't think your apprentice would mind it much, either!"

Lucina's only reaction was the typical "teenager whose dorky dad just embarrassed her in public" sigh as her face turned a color similar to mine.

* * *

Later that evening while wandering through the castle, I came upon the library, where Robin sat quietly, a book in her hands. I looked around in awe at the hundreds upon hundreds of books on nearly every subject before the Queen noticed me.

"Ah, Casey. What are you doing in here?"

I looked at her, somewhat startled. "Um, sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here."

"It's fine. You seem to be interested in books, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Well, uh, yeah, kind of," I said nervously. "I'm actually learning magic in addition to combat, and I just thought there might be stuff on that in here."

She smiled brightly. "Well, you've come to the right place, then! I could give you some tutoring myself if you'd like."

There was no way I was going to pass up that kind of opportunity. "Wow, really? Thank you! Um, uh, I mean, thank you Your Highness—"

"Hey, don't worry. I don't like being that formal any more than Chrom does. Now, let's see, where did I put that book on theory..."

Robin turned out to be a very patient and helpful teacher, and I managed to learn more about magic from her in a few minutes than I had learned on my own since I had arrived in the multiverse. Theory was actually just as fascinating as learning spells; in fiction, the actual mechanics of magic are almost NEVER discussed, so discovering how it all worked was an interesting experience. Soon enough, I was using basic telekinesis to lift books in the air and hold them open as I read; this was extremely difficult, as it basically entailed two forms of telekinesis on top of each other while dividing your focus at the same time. At times it made my head hurt, but the encouragements from Robin were great for motivating me.

"Now close your eyes and focus on the energy flow. Try to imagine it as a bunch of ribbons of different colors; then, just grab the one that corresponds to the appropriate energy, then reach out with your hands as if to pull on it as you make the hand motions. Visualization is a great way to remember the direction of the flow, and it helps train you to recognize the energies involved better."

I did as she was told, waving my hands in the pattern required for the spell.

"Now, just as the energy starts to coalesce, let go of the ribbon and allow it to 'snap' back, and that should release the spell with a little more force."

"Like pulling on a bowstring?"

"A very good description, actually! Whatever helps you visualize it better. The ribbon thing is just how I learned it."

The ribbon thing was working just fine for me, so I just went with that and released the energy as I spoke the word.

"ELWIND!"

A small tornado formed in front of me, spinning in place. It took all the control I had to prevent it from going all over the place and blowing books and papers everywhere; instead, after a few seconds, the spell "fizzled out", the tornado dissipating as I clutched my forehead in exhaustion.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just worn out. Thanks for the lesson. I never knew how much of a difference a tutor made! I've been studying all on my own since coming here; Princess Zelda was the only one I knew who used magic, and she was obviously too busy running the multiverse to teach me. "

Robin smiled again. "Well, there's your problem! Magic is a complicated thing. Unless you're already really experienced, self-study can feel like slamming your head against a wall without effect. Once you get back to the Hub, try to get an actual teacher. I'm sure she wouldn't object to that."

"Mother, are you in here? Dinner's ready!"

"Yes, Morgan, I was just helping Sir Link's apprentice with his magic studies. We'll be right there!"

* * *

I'd never eaten dinner in a royal dining hall, and even the food at the Hub castle was mostly just standard fare in the Royal Guard quarters rather than the kind of sumptuous feast that lay in front of us: Roast chicken, perfectly-seasoned steak, fresh salads, and the fluffiest and most perfectly baked dinner rolls ever conceived by man. And that was just the main course! The desserts featured cakes, pies, candied cherries, bread pudding, chocolates, and more. This was as close to heaven as any dinner could get, and by the time I was finished I felt like I would burst if I had one more bite.

As I walked down the hallway towards the stateroom I was staying in, I was in such a daze from the oncoming food coma that I almost ran into Lucina on the way.

"Oops! Uh, sorry about that. I ought to pay more attention to where I'm going..."

"That's fine, I was just talking to Sir Link about our training regimen."

I perked up at that. "Oh, that's right! I was hoping you could teach me a little bit about how you do those amazing acrobatics in mid-combat. Watching you flip over my head like that was great... uh, I mean, I wasn't WATCHING you, so much as SEEING you, not that I actually SAW anythingandokay, I should probably stop talking now..."

She chuckled a bit in response. "It's okay, according to mother, father was about as awkward when he proposed to her."

It took all my strength not to pull an Ethan and faint right there. She apparently noticed my reaction, because she panicked a bit as well. "Er, I mean, not that you were proposing anything..."

"No, not at all..."

"So we should..."

"Yeah..."

"Um, see you in the morning?"

"Right, right, uh, goodnight? I mean, goodnight!"

A few minutes later, Link arrived to our shared room and wondered why I was banging my head against the wall. I didn't have the strength to tell him.

* * *

 _ **Why yes, I DO love making my OCs squirm. I'm not sure if anything will come of this, but even if it doesn't it ought to make for good comic relief—which will absolutely be needed as the plot kicks back up. As always, read and review!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** **_Forgive the quality of this chapter—sometimes I have the urge to write when I have no ideas on how to go ahead. I generally find that once I start typing, things come to me as I go, so this chapter is more-or-less improv writing as I type it._**

* * *

I woke up bright and early for training with Lucina. I was excited to learn how to do those superhuman leaps people in her world were capable of... but the other part of me was nervous just thinking about her. I knew this wouldn't go anywhere—after all, she was a princess, and I wasn't even from the multiverse!—and yet, my teenage mind and hormones wouldn't let it go. Fortunately, I was able to compose myself somewhat upon reaching the training grounds, if only because both Link and her dad were watching.

"Okay... so, how do you jump so high?"

"What do you mean? You just jump."

I suddenly remembered—like most anime and games, that was just kind of how fighting went. It wasn't strange at all to them to perform gravity-defying leaps and flips.

"Yeah, well, maybe in this world you can. I'm not from here."

"Casey, aren't you forgetting something?"

I turned to Link in confusion. "Huh?"

"Zelda told you to work on your powers, remember? This is a good time to work on that."

"Oh, right..."

I focused on visualizing Chrom and Lucina in their first duel in the game. Suddenly, I felt the glow envelop my body. The two royals looked on in amazement; we had already told them where I came from and what my abilities entailed, but hearing about something and seeing it were two different things. I opened my eyes to examine myself, only to be disappointed.

"It doesn't look like anything changed. I don't feel any different..."

Link nodded. "Well, maybe it's not always a visible change. Try jumping."

I complied... and leapt fifteen feet straight up.

"Holy CraaaAAAAAP!"

And landed right on my face. Hard.

Lucina rushed over and knelt down to check on me. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay..."

As I got up, our eyes met. Cue awkward pause followed by embarrassed blushing and mild teenage panic as I stumbled to my feet and she backed off.

"Uh, so, that happened..."

"Yeah, well. Er, shall we get on with training?"

I did my best to ignore the laughter from my mentor and her father as she and I bowed and we began sparring. After a few minutes, I found myself more and more comfortable with the acrobatics... but my sword work still sucked in comparison to hers. She wasn't particularly strong, but damn, she was FAST. Half the time I could barely see her, and she was holding back!

An hour or two later, I was utterly exhausted from the exertion of sparring.

"Well, I think that's enough for now. Let's get some rest, and we'll start back later."

I nodded at Lucina and tried to drop the transformation. Tried being the keyword, because there was no glow this time. I tried a second time, but still nothing.

"I don't get it. Why aren't I changing back?"

"Maybe changes like this kind are permanent. It's not like the arm cannon where you'd need to drop it at some point, after all."

Before any more discussion could occur, Frederick ran in, his normally stoic face betraying mild alarm. "My Lord, enemy troops have appeared to the South and are marching towards us as we speak!"

Everyone present looked at the battle butler. Chrom immediately went into king/general mode. "How large is the army?"

"Exact numbers are unknown at this point, but the enemy forces are sizable."

"Alright. Frederick, rally the army at once—I want every available soldier to muster immediately! Marta, go tell your mother while I gather the Shepherds!"

"I'll get the rest of the Royal Guard together and meet up with you and the Shepherds as well!"

"What about me?"

Link turned to me, a look of concern on his face. "This isn't a small engagement, Casey, this is war, and you still have a long way to go with your training—"

"I'm never going to be ready if I don't get real combat experience! I'll stay out of the way as best I can, but at least give me a chance!"

He sighed. "Okay, but you stick with me or one of the others, and don't get involved in the fighting unless we say so. Let's move!"

* * *

"Hmm. I didn't expect them to be ready to fight so quickly. They must have been on standby in preparation for our arrival."

Ganondorf sat on his horse as he observed the Ylissean army. His forces, comprised mostly of monsters, but complimented by mercenaries and other assorted villains, was quite large, and outnumbered the Yllisseans three-to-one. But he wasn't a fool, and he was perfectly aware that numbers alone meant very little in the grand scheme of things. Especially when the Queen of Ylisse was one of the greatest military strategists in the multiverse.

The battlefield was, for the most part, a wide plain with tall hills on one side and a river on the other. His army was primarily infantry, and arranged in rows with cavalry at the flanks. The front row was comprised of light infantry, with each row behind made up of increasingly well-equipped troops. His enemy was diverse, and had a number of cavalry troops, as well as flying units such as pegasus and wyvern knights. His own forces also had airborne units, and while these were powerful they were less numerous. The Gerudo sorcerer considered this; in the end, he knew this battle would boil down to infantry. The enemy's flyers would be the biggest threat, but all he needed to do was keep them busy, and in spite of the numerical disadvantage in that area he was confident that his own flyers would be able to take the brunt of that force long enough for his army to engage. The plain was wide enough to accommodate large amounts of soldiers, but the natural barriers on either side would likely negate the enemy's cavalry by preventing them from flanking. All in all, he was confident in victory... but at the same time, he did not intend to be taken by surprise.

As he gazed at the opposing force, he reached out with his magic to get a better idea of the enemy forces... and found something interesting.

"Well well well. The Hero of Hyrule is there. And..."

He grinned as he recognized another target of interest: The Gamemaster. The boy was not on the front lines—obviously for his protection—but his mere presence was a boon. Not only that, he could sense the Exalt himself, and where the Exalt went, so did the Fire Emblem. This battle would be interesting indeed...

* * *

"So, Robin, what's the plan? How do we deal with a larger enemy?"

The master strategist began to arrange the blocks of wood representing the various units in the two armies on the table as she spoke. "Well, considering the terrain and the makeup of their troops, they're going for a straight-up slugfest. Normally this type of battlefield would favor the smaller army, but the way they've arranged their troops somewhat negates that advantage. Clearly, they intend to keep feeding infantry into the front lines to wear us down, and the arrangement of their cavalry suggest that they're there purely to screen their flanks. Their flyers will undoubtedly try to keep ours busy. From what our scouts say, they don't have any magical troops, but the battlefield doesn't exactly suit that style of combat anyway. As for us, we'll need to blunt the advance and turn their strategy against them."

She placed the blocks representing the Ylissean forces in a crescent shape with the curve facing the enemy. "Here's how we'll deploy. Our heavy infantry will be on the flanks, with lighter troops holding the center. Once the battle begins, we'll send out our flyers to keep their own airborne troops busy, while our cavalry engages theirs. We won't need to drive them from the battlefield entirely, but we will need to strip them from the flanks."

"Where will we be?"

"I was just getting to that, Link. You and the rest of the Royal Guard will lead the center. The shepherds will command the individual units; Chrom, you command the left flank, and I'll take the right."

Simon looked on in concern. "But wouldn't weakening the center make it easier for them to break our lines?"

Robin smirked back. "Yes... and that's exactly what we're going to let them do."

* * *

I almost regretted my decision to come along with Link and the others. I was directly between Link and Samus, but that didn't exactly bring much comfort considering the forces arrayed against us.

"Remember, Casey, if we tell you to retreat, you do it IMMEDIATELY. Understand?"

"Yes, sir..."

Before long, the enemy forces began to march toward us at a slow, even pace. The pegasus and wyvern knights flew right over our heads and engaged the enemy flyers as the cavalry, led by Morgan and Frederick, thundered toward the enemy horsemen. I braced myself as best I could, holding my shield in front of me, my sword pointed at the enemy. Samus stepped into a fighting stance; her arm cannon wouldn't work on this enemy, but it still served as a convenient bludgeon, and her armor was more than capable of surviving powerful blows. Before long, the enemy was right on top of us. As we prepared to engage, I swallowed in fear.

"Here goes nothing..."

* * *

Ganondorf observed the battlefield from the rear; the cavalry was roughly even, but the superior numbers of the enemy were gradually driving his horsemen and his flyers back. Fortunately, his infantry were doing their job exceedingly well; already they were driving the enemy back. The enemy's center had not yet broken, but at the rate they were losing ground it was only a matter of time. He smiled evilly; this was going better than he had hoped. His only regret would be not being able to kill the Hero of Hyrule with his own hands, but mounting his head on his mantle would be a suitable consolation prize... along with the Fire Emblem. As for the Gamemaster, he had given the order to his troops to leave the boy alone if at all possible; he had a sneaking suspicion about why his benefactor wanted him alive, but if the child were killed, he doubted it would bother the imprisoned entity that much.

It mattered little at this point. Victory was nearly at hand. The enemy center was already being pushed back beyond...

Beyond their flanks...

His eyes widened in horror as he realized, too late, what was happening. As his forces advanced, the heavy infantry on the enemy flanks suddenly closed inward as the enemy center suddenly stopped in their tracks. He whipped around to see that the enemy cavalry had disengaged his own and slammed into the rear of his army as the flyers, now free of their opponents, made swooping runs on his forces. The battle was lost; he himself was torn between cursing the Queen of Ylisse and begrudgingly applauding the brilliance of her strategy. But he would not die with his army. Cursing, he cast a teleportation spell and vanished into thin air, leaving his troops to their fate.

The enemy had won the battle. But the war was far from over, and the Fire Emblem would not be out of his reach for long...

* * *

 _ **Sorry about the short chapter. This arc isn't over yet, though. Also, a no-prize to anyone who can correctly guess where I got the strategy of this battle from. :)**_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** ** _Thanks to a good friend of mine for his advice on how to go forward. I'm still open to having beta readers, though. Enjoy!_**

* * *

I stood outside the door of the guest chamber reserved for Samus at the royal palace of Ylisstol, struggling to work up the courage to knock. I needed to talk about the previous day's events, but I wasn't entirely sure how to approach it. GOD, I needed to talk; the things going through my mind, the feelings that wouldn't go away, they were all crushing me, and I felt like I'd go insane if I didn't talk to SOMEONE about it. Out of all the members of the Royal Guard, the one I felt could help me with this the most was Samus; even so, something about her soldier-like demeanor made her difficult to approach—and then there was the other matter I wanted to discuss, a question that had been nagging at me since the end of the battle that caused all of these feelings, and I worried what the reaction of my heroes would be. Finally, I took a deep breath and knocked.

"Er, Samus, ma'am? I really need to talk to you—"

"I figured you would."

I turned around to see the bounty hunter standing behind me, looking down at me with a somber expression.

"Come on in. If I'm right about what you want to talk about, you probably don't want to go through it in the hall where people can hear," she said, gently reaching for the doorknob and opening it before gesturing me to enter.

"Thanks ma'am, I—"

"Stop. You don't have to call me that right now. Just have a seat wherever you like, and we'll talk."

Her voice was a lot more gentle than I had ever heard it; normally, she spoke in a stoic, firm, and highly professional manner—but here, there was a lot more warmth, with a slight hint of regret. I entered the room and took a seat on the edge of the bed, after which she quietly sat down next to me. A brief silence passed between us before I found the courage to talk.

"It's about the battle yesterday..."

I looked at her again, but she didn't say anything, merely nodding in understanding as I continued. "I know I've been pestering you guys to let me get involved more, but... well..."

I found it harder to speak. Images flashed around in my head, the images that brought me to this room:

 _Chaos. Utter chaos. Noise, fire, clashing of steel. Most of it ahead of me. In the center of the formation, but in the back of the line instead of the front. But I can still see it. I can still hear it. It's coming this way. Chaos. Utter chaos._

 _Something breaks through the soldiers in front of me_

 _More than one, Link and Samus take theirs down_

 _One still left, ready to kill_

 _No time to react, no time to think_

 _Don't think, don't look, just swing_

 _Clash of steel on steel_

 _My sword hits something soft and wet_

 _Thump at my feet_

 _Don't look don't look don't look..._

But I did look. And despite the horror of what I saw, I couldn't stop looking. For lying on the ground in front of me was a dead man, a massive gash in his chest from my sword. MY sword, still dripping blood. I must have looked like a statue, because I had to be physically dragged back by Link and Samus, but even then, I couldn't take my eyes off of... it.

Back in the present, I felt tears welling up. I hated crying. I especially didn't like doing it in front of these heroes. But it was all just too much, and even when I gathered up enough strength to continue talking—which took what seemed an eternity of silence—I had to choke back my tears, lest I lose the ability to speak at all.

"He was trying to kill me. He WOULD have killed me if I... if I hadn't... and he was a bad guy, I get it, he was working for Ganondorf, no one works for someone like that if they're a good person, but... but..."

I felt a hand reach around my shoulder, and I found myself leaning against Samus for support as I began to break down entirely. "How?! How do you do this?! What the hell—I can still... I can still see it! I can still SMELL it!"

For a while, she said nothing, silently patting me on the back as I cried. As I began to calm down, she looked at me with genuine pity. "It's not supposed to be easy. I still remember—and FEEL—every single life I have taken so far. And the pain never truly leaves. But here's the thing..." Samus paused for a bit before looking me directly in the eyes with a sincere expression.

"That man would not have lost one night's sleep over killing you. The very fact that YOU feel like this about HIM is proof that you are NOT a killer, you are NOT a bad person. There's one and only one person responsible for his death, and that's him. You were only protecting yourself..."

"I know, I keep telling myself that, but—"

"But it's one thing to tell yourself something, another thing entirely to believe it," Samus finished. "I went through the same thing when I first started out. I had help from the beginning, though, just like all the others... I was adopted and raised by an alien race with a semi-warrior culture. Mostly peaceful, but with a strong warrior ethic, and they taught me most of what I know about fighting. Part of that was how to deal with things like this. But you didn't have that background, you didn't have that advantage..."

I managed to stop some of my tears for a moment, remembering the other part of what I wanted to talk about. "That reminds me—Samus, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead, Casey. It's okay."

"...do I _have_ to be the hero?"

There was a long pause, and for a moment I thought she would be mad. She sighed for a bit, then shook her head. "No. No you don't. To be honest, I'm surprised it took you so long to ask this question."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're young. You're practically still a kid. Sure, you're brave—as a matter of fact, you're one of the braver kids I've encountered—but you're still not ready for the kind of pressure we've been putting on you. True, the enemy forces have been getting the best of us for a while, but it wasn't entirely hopeless until you came along. Then there's the fact that we now have a general idea of what they're after, which provides an important advantage we lacked before. Truth is, if you decided to stop and let us handle it from now on, it wouldn't be the end of the multiverse. And before you say anything, no, none of us would hold it against you if you decided that."

I considered her words for a few moments. I had a choice? One voice in my head said of course I did, Zelda said so at the beginning of all this. But at the same time, I had a feeling in my gut that I couldn't explain, one that told me not to quit, that there were bigger things going on than anyone knew and that I'd be letting everyone down if I just stopped. I didn't know which voice to listen to.

"I'll... I'll have to think about it," I said, looking away from her in no particular direction. "right now, I'm just tired..."

"I understand. Take whatever time you need. And if you ever need to talk about nightmares or other things, you can talk to me about it, okay?"

I nodded back at her as I left the room and began slowly trudging toward the chamber I shared with Link when the hero in question turned the corner, surprising me.

"Hey, are you okay? You look a bit out of it..." He tilted his head at me, worry in his voice.

"I talked with Samus in her room about... about yesterday. I'm sorry, but I need some time alone to think things over..."

He shook his head. "No, that's okay. Have you seen any of the others?"

It was my turn to tilt my head. I wasn't sure why, but something seemed off about the way he asked that. "No, I think they're talking with the Shepherds. Why?"

At that point, the reason for my worry became perfectly clear as a deep, cruel-sounding voice came from Link's mouth. "I just wanted to make certain you were alone... Gamemaster."

The world went black before I could scream.

* * *

I shook my head groggily before realizing that I was definitely no longer in the palace. Rather, I was in a cave of some sort; the chamber was small and dark, with only one entrance and lit by a solitary torch. As for me, I was sitting on the ground with my hands tied to a post above my head... and "Link" standing over me, an evil grin on his face as he chuckled at my predicament.

"Well, you're finally awake. You kept me waiting long enough."

I was about to respond when the air around him shimmered like a heat mirage before revealing his true form: a seven-foot-tall man with dark skin, crimson hair, red eyes, and the cruelest smirk one could imagine. There was no mistaking who was standing in front of me.

"You're... you're Ganondorf!"

"In the flesh," he said, his eyes boring into my soul. "You should be thankful, you know. I could have brought you directly to my benefactor. But I am a practical man, and I know better than to waste a potential asset. You, boy, are the latter. So..."

I cringed as he stepped forward, towering over me. "...answer my questions, and you might live to see another day. Refuse to answer—or worse, lie to me—and I will make you SUFFER. Do we understand each other?"

I wanted to say no. I wanted to refuse. But good God, the sheer presence of this guy was beyond description! Looking at him was like staring into your own open grave; this was not an enemy I could beat or outwit. This was a man who, like Link and Zelda, was in possession of a piece of the divine relic known as the Triforce, and as a result was essentially unkillable by anyone other than a fellow Triforce wielder. Even Link—the only one ever to fight him head-to-head and come out on top—had to struggle just to survive whenever they fought. I gulped in terror, and gave a silent prayer before answering.

"Y-yeah, I get it... W-what do you want to know?"

"What, exactly, do your powers entail? How do they work?" Ganondorf asked the question with an eerie calm in his voice.

"I-I don't know. I just know that I can do it—"

"Hmph. A useless answer, but it's obvious you don't know any more than that. I would have thought the Royal Guard would at least teach you how to lie in case you were captured. Now, next question. What is your world like? Is it based on technology, or magic?"

I paused. I didn't like where this was going. Why would he be asking these questions? Was he planning to attack my world?

He glared angrily in my direction. "I will not ask again, boy. You will not enjoy the consequences if you remain silent."

I swallowed my resistance again. "It's... it's tech based. Magic is supposed to be a myth..."

He smirked. "Interesting. Your people hold latent power akin to gods when you are here, but in your world you are ignorant of even the most basic magic. Very well, let us move on. Which Royal Guard member has been training you most?"

Before I could stop myself, my confusion got the better of me. "Why do you want to know that? Why do you want to know any of this?"

"Why? An apt question," he chuckled. "I would say simple curiosity if not for the fact that I do not believe in wasting a chance to learn about your enemy. Aside from that, however, I would have to say the reason is boredom. It can be quite tiring, you know, waiting for one's foes to arrive."

He laughed at my puzzled reaction. "Oh, really, did you think me a fool? I know precisely how those so-called 'heroes' think. Yes, they'll come to rescue you, there will be a fight, I will be forced to retreat, and so on and so forth. But not without the Fire Emblem. And they WILL bring it, because otherwise they will never see you alive again. I left them a message to that effect shortly before I took you. And before you go on about how they would find a way to foil my plan, Link is already familiar enough with me to know that I am far too intelligent to be fooled by a forgery as that idiot Validar was."

I recognized the name; in Fire Emblem: Awakening, the villain was a sorcerer named Validar who sought the Fire Emblem in the hopes of releasing an evil god. His plan was foiled when Robin and Chrom fooled him with a fake Emblem.

"Heh. So I was correct. You DO know more about the multiverse than you let on."

I looked at Ganondorf in shock. "W-what do you mean?"

"Don't try and play me for a fool, boy. The full details of the incident with Validar and the Fire Emblem are known only to those who were present at the time. Well, that WAS the extent of the knowledge... until I captured and interrogated one of the few survivors of his little cult. In any case, you should have no way of knowing about that, and yet you obviously do. So tell me, what else do you know? How much does your world truly know of the multiverse?"

I panicked. This was NOT something I wanted him to know. "N-nothing, I just overheard—AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGH!"

Lightning leapt from his fingertips, sending blinding pain through every nerve in my body. Ganondorf's expression did not change, and his voice was still calm as ever. "Let's try that again, shall we? How much?"

"Please... please don't..."

He started to raise his hand to continue torturing me when he paused. He looked at the back of his right hand, observing the now glowing mark of the Triforce. "Well, I suppose we'll have to cut this conversation short. In any case, your reluctance to answer that question spoke volumes—obviously, your people know a great deal. But that is not my concern at this time. For now, let's just sit quietly and await the entrance of your rescuers—wait."

He grimaced, looking at my hands before glaring at me. "Boy. How long have you had that mark on your right hand?"

In confusion, I tilted my head up to see what he was talking about... only to see a familiar triangle-shaped mark. It was not glowing, and it was faint, but the outline was definitely visible. "What...? How did—?"

"I see the Triforce has already chosen a replacement for Link should he fall. A Hero of the Triforce, with the powers of a Gamemaster? That won't do. In that case, I cannot kill him... unless you are dead. How fortunate for you that I have no intention of killing him today—as a matter of fact, I think I may not need the Emblem after all. Thank you for your cooperation."

With that, the Gerudo sorcerer vanished into thin air, just in time for Link and the others to come in with the Emblem and witness his departure.

* * *

Dr. Albert Wily sat at a desk in his laboratory, reading over various blueprints when Ganondorf appeared. The mad scientist did not turn around, having been expecting his visitor. "So, how is Ylisse this time of year?"

"You may dispense with the pleasantries, Doctor. We have much to discuss concerning your research into the nature of Gamemasters."

"I said it before, and I'll say it again. I need more information before I can make any further progress. Now unless you have anything for me—"

"I do. It should prove most enlightening, as it seems to confirm certain theories you posited concerning this subject when we last met."

Wily turned to face Ganondorf, a smile on his face. "Excellent."

* * *

 _ **I love intelligent villains—they're so much more threatening than other kinds. I was going for a slight Doctor Doom vibe with that conversation, actually.**_


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** **_Sorry about the short chapter. That said, I'm kind of surprised at myself for how long I've been keeping this fic going; I tend to lose interest in long series or get distracted and forget to continue. Fortunately, I've got a good idea of where I'm going right now, so hopefully I can keep it up. Of course, feedback DOES help motivate me, so if you have anything at all to say about the fic, please do so. With that shameless begging for reviews out of the way, enjoy!_**

* * *

"Why would he go to all that trouble to get the Fire Emblem, only to leave without it? Doesn't he need it to free that ancient evil he's working for?"

"Ganondorf isn't one to follow other people, Simon—he might be plotting against his benefactor. In which case, the real question is 'what does he know that we don't?'" Samus responded. "You know him best, Link. Any thoughts?"

The Hero of Hyrule shook his head. "I agree with Samus. Ganondorf is a schemer, and the only reason he'd be helping anyone else at all is if it benefited him. What really scares me is that he'd let Casey live after finding out about the Triforce mark."

I looked up at that, then back down to the mark on the back of my hand. Here I had been, so shaken by my experience on the battlefield, wondering about my role in all of this, even considering giving it all up, when I find out that even more expectations had been shoved on me—and the worst part was, I didn't feel like I deserved it.

"Why the hell would it choose me, anyway? I was so terrified of him that all it took for him to make me tell him whatever he wanted to know was to glare at me!"

Link glanced in my direction. "Casey, you're being too hard on yourself—"

"No, don't you get it? If I'm such a coward that I can't even look a bad guy in the eye without freaking out, how the hell am I supposed to be worthy of the Triforce of Courage?! Hell, I don't even think it actually CHOSE me! One of the first transformations I tried after Rock's mega buster was you, Link, and at the time I thought it failed because it looked like nothing had happened. But what if I just copied your 'worthiness'? Face it. I'm no hero. It chose wrong..."

Link frowned. "Casey, if you think the Triforce would be fooled like that, you're wrong. Remember what the Princess said about the spell that brought you here? It wouldn't have picked you if there hadn't been at least potential to be a hero. Just give it time."

I looked up at him slowly, terrified of his reaction to what I was about to say. He and the others had put so much time and effort into me; it almost seemed ungrateful. But everything I had been through was weighing down on me, and Samus' earlier words to me still rang in my head. "I think... I think I don't want to be the hero anymore. I'm not ready for this."

Silence followed my statement as I lowered my head in shame. But I had made up my mind—at least for the time being.

* * *

 **"I'm starting to wonder if you're competent enough to bother with, Ganondorf. That's TWICE you failed to get what I needed."**

"I may have failed to acquire this artifact, but there are other artifacts to consider. Besides, even if they collect all of them, that would simply mean we wouldn't have to bother finding them ourselves—we could just steal them out from under the enemy all at once. Plans for the next world are currently under way, and there aren't any tactical geniuses there to worry about."

The eldritch being considered this. **"Perhaps you're right. Not to mention we'll have two tech geniuses on our side there... that could be the edge we need."**

Ganondorf smiled inwardly. Whatever power this being could grant paled in comparison to the power he was now after, but for the time being he still needed his benefactor. Wily was already on board, and with Eggman's help, the plan to surpass even the gods themselves would proceed even faster. All he needed to do was keep this thing in the dark for a little while longer.

"I'll start the planning and preparation for the next magic world we visit. With any luck, we could begin before the Royal Guard are finished with Mobius..."

* * *

Albert Wily may have been an egocentric man, but even he had to admit that Dr. Eggman was a genius worth his respect. The two had gone over various plans and designs for both the latter's eggbots and his own Robot Masters, and the results were promising.

"So if we reroute the power matrix here, we might be able to increase the output of the plasma stability field generator by .07 percent, which would definitely improve shield efficiency in models 05 through 09. I have to say, your creations may lack the flair or durability of mine, but the quality of their weapon design is impressive."

Eggman smiled proudly. "Well, I've always been a believer in a strong offense being the best defense. Sonic and his allies may be able to damage them too easily for my tastes—I've yet to find a design with power output to my liking that they can't seem to ruin—but when they do manage to land a hit, even a glancing blow can be enough to kill. With your modifications, I might be able to make something that can hit even that infernal hedgehog!"

"If you two are quite finished, perhaps we can discuss our other plans," Ganondorf said, rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "I spoke to our benefactor; he remains oblivious to our scheme, but he is no fool. It won't be long before he suspects something is amiss."

Wily huffed in anger. "Who made YOU the leader here? Your magic may be powerful in, say, Hyrule, but science rules in this world, and if you want an efficient machine, you'll have to be patient; trial and error must be considered before any prototype is deployed."

"I wouldn't say that," Eggman replied. "I have a few old concepts that could work. The Chaos Emeralds have curious properties beyond the obvious; aside from being a near-endless source of power, they can also convert any form of energy to any other form of energy. Minor tweaks to a few of my early generator blueprints could turn that to our advantage in our endeavor, and those have already been tested enough that we could have a working prototype within the week, providing we actually manage to retrieve at least one complete emerald. It wouldn't even have to be the Master Emerald."

Ganondorf ignored Wily's slight against him as he considered Eggman's words. "Indeed. The emeralds seem to be a unique paradox; science and magic in one? I wouldn't mind studying them myself. Speaking of magic, the Triforce of Power seemed to resonate with the emerald shard you possess. The implications are fascinating. With any luck, it may be the key to our goal."

The three villains continued their discussion long into the night. With every word spoken and every idea put forward, they grew more convinced of their course, more confident in the potential success of their scheme.

* * *

As the _Chozo_ lifted off, I sat looking at Sparks' pokeball. _Sorry, but your trainer is a total loser. I didn't even get the chance to pull you out in this world._ The others took my confession better than I thought they would, though they were definitely disappointed. Some discussion about where I would live had occurred, but in the end it was decided that I would stay in the palace for the time being.

I recalled Princess Zelda's offer from before, about being adopted in the event of me not being able to go back to my world; what effect would my decision have on that? Would it just serve as a reminder of my failure? _Maybe I could stay with Ethan and Professor Argento. If I can't be a hero, maybe I could be a trainer or something. At least then I'd be able to say I accomplished things during my time here._

Suddenly, a loud beeping shook me from my thoughts; the source was the holoterminal in the main hold of the ship, indicating an incoming priority message.

 **"** _ **Zelda to Chozo, are you there?"**_

Samus put the ship on autopilot before answering. "We're here, ma'am. What's the situation?"

 **"** _ **We just received word of an enemy incursion in Mobius; reports are vague, but one of Wily's Robot Masters has been spotted among Eggman's forces there. I am sorry, but I'm afraid Casey's situation will have to wait until this one is resolved."**_

"Copy that, Your Highness. We'll handle it."

I reacted with interest. Mobius... Eggman... that was the world of Sonic the Hedgehog, wasn't it? Before that train of thought went any further, I abandoned it and shook my head. I had made my decision. I wasn't going to get involved here. Or so I had hoped at the time. But while I'm still not sure if destiny was involved, one thing was certain: my bad luck meant that my adventures were far from over.

* * *

 _ **Can you guess what the baddies are planning? If so, well, I'm certainly not going to confirm or deny any of it-you'll just have to wait and find out if your guess is right like everyone else! See you next chapter!**_


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** **_I'm debating on whether to see Wonder Woman in theaters. On the one hand, I hear it's amazingly good. But on the other, I don't want to encourage or endorse the DC Movieverse considering the quality of their films up to this point. Zak Snyder is the Antichrist to Michael Bay's Satan. Or is it the other way around? Oh well. Enjoy the new chapter!_**

* * *

In spite of my decision to abandon the path I had been on, simply staying in the _Chozo_ throughout our stay in the world of Sonic the Hedgehog was not an option; as advanced as the ship was, the Royal Guard couldn't afford to leave anyone behind to babysit me on the ship, which meant I had to stay in the woodland village in which we landed. While I would have preferred to stay behind this time lest I get tempted to change my mind, being able to see real Mobians with my own eyes was tempting in and of itself.

As we walked off the ramp and into the village, I noticed something odd: there were a great deal more people milling about then there were buildings in the place. We didn't have long to wait for an explanation, however, as who should be the first to greet us but the Fastest Thing Alive himself.

"Welcome to Mobius! I'm Sonic! So you all 're the Royal Guard, huh? I've heard a lot of cool things about you guys!"

Link nodded at Sonic in return. "Likewise, Sonic. I'm Link of Hyrule; the big guy is Simon Belmont, the lady in armor is Samus Aran, and the blue cyborg is Megaman—but you can call him Rock."

The blue hedgehog smiled and nodded in greeting to the rest of them before looking at me in confusion. "So who's this, then? Is he the Gamemaster I heard about?"

I turned my head away in embarrassment and shame as Link responded. "Yeah, but I'm afraid the kid just wasn't ready for all of this. He doesn't want to fight anymore, and considering how dangerous things are getting—and how serious your situation sounded in particular—we didn't think it right to force him."

Sonic paused a moment, then shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sucks that I won't get to see him in action, though. As for our situation, you had it pegged—it's serious, all right. Follow me, we can talk about it inside."

He led us through the village toward a large hut, and on the way I once again noticed how many Mobians were milling around, before noticing something else: namely, that a number of them looked tired, dirty, and/or wounded. I frowned at all of this; I still felt like I made the right decision to give up hero-ing, and considering how badly some of these people were hurt, it made that choice seem to make even more sense. At the same time, though, I felt my heart sink a bit at their situation.

Upon entering the hut, I took a moment to look around; the main room of the hut had been cleared of most furniture and turned into a makeshift command center. In the middle of the room, there was a hastily-placed meeting table, around which I saw a few more familiar faces:

Miles "Tails" Prower, the yellow-furred fox and kid genius, his two tails swishing back and forth behind him as he tinkered with some machinery.

Knuckles the Echidna, the self-appointed guardian of the Master Emerald and resident brawler of Sonic's allies.

Last but not least, Shadow the Hedgehog, who leaned against a wall in a darker corner of the room, the only being in this world whose speed could match Sonic's.

After introducing everyone, Sonic motioned to Tails to begin the briefing. It struck me just how young Tails was in comparison to everyone else in the room; in fact, if I had to guess, I would have said he was my age.

"Like Sonic said, things are pretty bad around here. Forty-eight hours ago, Dr. Eggman—a scientist and roboticist who has been a regular pain for us—made an assault on Station Square, the largest city in this world. In the past, we've always been able to fight him off with Sonic's help—"

The black hedgehog coughed slightly before scowling at Tails. "Ahem."

"—and Shadow's, last time around. This time was different; not only are Eggman's robots a lot stronger than before, we've begun seeing entirely new robots among his troops that don't match any of his previous designs. With these new robots, combined with his own improved creations, he invaded in record time, forcing us to evacuate the city altogether. After cross-referencing the new robots with information I downloaded from a criminal database in the Hub, we've identified two of them in particular, and while Megaman won't really need any introductions, I'll do it anyway for the rest of you."

Tails activated a small handheld device, causing a large screen to emerge from a sliding wall panel; the screen turned on, displaying two robotic faces.

"The one on the left is Quickman; according to what we've seen already, he's about as fast as Sonic, maybe even a bit faster, and with a good deal of firepower to boot. But the real threat is his partner-in-crime. The one on the right is Gutsman, a fairly destructive 'bot who tanked nearly everything we threw at him. Not even Knuckles was able to put so much as a scratch in his armor."

"Sonic and I tried focusing on Quickman, but then Gutsman started tearing the city apart, and we had to break off of Quick to stop him," Shadow shrugged before continuing. "They're a pretty dangerous tag team. Between the two of them, we were lucky to make it out of there in one piece."

Tails nodded at Sonic. "Thankfully, now that you guys are here, we might stand a chance. I understand that Rock fought them before?"

"Yeah," replied the blue robot. "But I can already see from the pictures that they've had some upgrades since then. That said, if I can get close enough to scan them, I can replicate their abilities and weapons. I should be able to deal with Gutsman on my own, but that still leaves Quickman and an army's worth of enemies."

"Hey, Shadow and I can handle 'Speedy'," Sonic chuckled somewhat arrogantly, making air quotes around the nickname. "And as tough as all of you are, you should be able to fend off the Eggbots long enough for him and Fatso to get scrapped, and then they'll have to retreat. It'll be even easier if we use one of the chaos emeralds."

Knuckles spoke up next. "Problem is, Eggman is probably going to be watching from the sidelines, and if he sees ANYONE with a chaos emerald, he's going to go after them full force to get his hands on it—and then we'd be done for. All the emeralds are here, including the Master Emerald, and only reason he hasn't gotten them is because he hasn't found this place yet."

"He's right; if they're as important as you say, then normally I'd suggest that we keep some of us here to guard them—but since the enemy hasn't found this place yet, that may draw attention to it, and they'd definitely notice if any of us were absent. Not to mention, the size of the enemy army means we'll need everyone we can spare."

"Samus has a point. Do you have a plan, Tails?" Link turned to the fox, who smiled in response.

"Sure do! Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles will head with you to Station Square; I'll stay behind to help guard the Emerald. I have a few tricks of my own if the enemy does try something, and since I'm usually just the techie among us, Eggman won't think it's weird that I'm not part of the battle."

The Hero of Hyrule stood and nodded in agreement. "Well then, let's not waste any more time. Casey, just sit tight and wait for us. Let's move out, everyone!"

* * *

Dr. Eggman sat in the command center, smiling as he watched a security feed from the outskirts of the city. "Well, it looks like they managed to contact the Royal Guard after all. Even if they somehow manage to win, it'll be a good test of our upgrades."

"Test, schmest. They weren't even able to scratch Guts' paint job, and I've calculated the amount of physical impact Sonic is capable of dealing at his top speed—it far exceeds what any of the Royal Guard are capable of aside from that infernal Megaman, and even he'll have trouble punching through that armor," said Dr. Wily, stroking his moustache as he spoke. "Besides, they clearly don't know the actual plan we're running here. It won't be long before we're short one group of heroes and up one set of powerful artifacts."

Eggman turned to his fellow mad scientist. "Speaking of which, any word from Ganondorf? As much help as he's been so far, I prefer to know where individuals like him are at all times. Honestly, he makes even _my_ skin crawl."

"He's busy distracting our mutual employer. But you are right; I don't trust him any more than I would trust myself. That said, he has his uses, and while I'm not a fan of magic—though ultimately it's just a science I don't understand—he has an almost scientific approach to his magical research, and what he knows will double our chances of success once we get our hands on those emeralds."

Eggman paused at Wily's words before turning back to the screen with a grumble. "...if you say so. I prefer not to rely on his type. If he's willing to stab our benefactor in the back, he'll do the same to us once we're no longer useful to him. Thankfully, I have a few ideas on that if you're willing to hear them out..."

* * *

 **"Back from Transylvania already? That was faster than expected."**

Ganondorf knelt before the ethereal black mass. "Well, there wasn't much to say, really. The Count won't resurrect until the next full moon—which is not for another couple of days—and his lackeys are hardly the most intelligent of individuals, so all I could do was bolster what defenses his castle already had for now. Once he's awake, though, things should progress nicely, as long as he doesn't waste time spouting platitudes about the nature of man and other such foolishness."

 **"Good to hear. In the meantime, check up on Wily and Eggman and report their progress back to me."**

The dark shape dissipated, unaware of an evil grin on Ganondorf's face. "I thought you'd never ask..."

* * *

Seven figures looked out from the roof of a small building at the horde of Eggbots, staying low and moving quietly so as to avoid ruining the element of surprise.

"Well, one thing's for sure, we won't have to worry about running out of bad guys to pummel," said Simon, whistling at the number of foes in between them and the nearly twenty-foot robot at the back of the mass of Eggbots. "I see Gutsman, but where's the other guy?"

"Hold on, let me scan the area..." Samus said, using the visor in her helmet to zero in on any movement or energy signature that stood out. After a few moments, she pointed to a spot East of their position, where another equally large number of Eggbots milled about. "Over there. I'm getting a larger power signature than any of the regular enemies, and it's moving fast."

Link nodded, then turned to the rest of the group. "Okay, here's the plan..."

After a brief explanation, a massive ball of energy shot toward the group near Quickman's position, destroying large numbers of Eggbots and clearing a path for the two hedgehogs in the group. Before the rest of the army could respond, Knuckles and Simon leapt from the rooftop and slammed into the ground with their incredible strength as they landed, causing a shockwave that sent nearby enemies flying as Link followed up with a flurry of attacks with the Master Sword and a number of thrown bombs. Rock took advantage of the confusion to charge ahead towards his target, smashing through anything that got in his way.

Within a few minutes, the battle began in full as the enemy forces finally recovered enough from the surprise of the initial attack to respond in kind.

"Ha! That's twenty already! How many did you get so far, Red?" Simon laughed as he used an axe to chop yet another Eggbot clean in half. The echidna in question shattered the chassis of his latest opponent with a single mighty punch before responding.

"Only twenty, Belmont? I'm on number twenty-eight, get on my level!"

Before either could react, several missiles shot from the sky towards a nearby mass of robots, followed by Samus' voice over the comlink. "That's sixty. You sure you boys are trying?"

Simon shrugged as he finished off his latest enemy. "Women..."

Meanwhile, as Rock made his own way through toward Gutsman, Sonic and Shadow had already engaged in combat with Quickman, whose speed was giving even them difficulty as he fended off their combined attacks.

"Come on, at least make it a challenge for me! I thought you two were supposed to be fast?" Quickman laughed evilly as he dodged a kick from Shadow, launching his own attack in response before being struck in the back of the head by a blue blur.

"That's funny, 'Speedy', I was about to say the exact same thing!"

Sonic quickly ducked as a shot from Quickman's arm cannon nearly took his head off. "You'll pay for that remark, runt! You two may be fast, but you're both still organic—you'll run out of steam long before I do!"

All in all, in spite of the sheer number of opponents, the battle seemed to be going rather well. Unbeknownst to them, two mad scientists watched the fight with a smile.

* * *

I sat underneath a tree, petting Sparks with my left hand while looking at the mark on the back of my right. It had faded somewhat, which I supposed was a sign that the Triforce was reconsidering my worthiness as much as I had. Before Ylisse, I would have been begging to accompany the others on their mission, but now, I actually enjoyed the relative peace of the forest village. I was so lost in thought that I barely noticed Tails coming up to me, having finished working on a few defensive turrets.

"So, you're him, huh? The Gamemaster?"

I looked at the two-tailed fox, who was wiping engine grease off his brow with a dirty rag. "Not anymore. Hell, maybe I never was..." I paused for a bit, then sighed dejectedly. "I mean, I have all this power, and I can't even look a villain in the eye, let alone help win a battle without losing my lunch. I'm just not cut out for the hero business."

Tails sat down next to Sparks and gave the pikachu a pat on the head before responding. "Hey, there are more ways to help besides just fighting, you know. I join the others in a fight when I can, but for the most part I build stuff and provide transport. My brain is the only weapon I need. Maybe you could play a support role, too!"

I shook my head. "I'm not anywhere near smart enough to do that, and I don't exactly have any special skills outside of my powers. I've been trying to learn magic, and I'm definitely better than when I started off, but even there I'm nowhere near good enough to be of any use to anyone."

My eyes drifted back to the fading Triforce mark. "It's funny, really. I looked up to the others, I wanted so much to be able to fight with them, to be like them, especially Link. But in the end, the most I've managed to accomplish are 1.) nearly getting myself killed by jumping into a fight when they told me to stay back, 2.) weaken the seal on the big bad's prison, and 3.) give away information to another bad guy when he threatened me. That last one just sealed it; I'm not just weak... I'm a coward."

The fox looked at me with a sympathetic frown before looking at his feet. "No, you're not a coward. When you put it that way, I'd have been scared, too. When it comes to Sonic and the others... I know I'm nowhere near as fast or as tough as they are, let alone as brave. But even so... when I see people getting hurt, or losing their homes, I just can't stand still and let it happen, either. And even if I can't do anything, even if I play right into the bad guys' hands, at least I'll know I tried my hardest and did everything I could..."

Before I could respond, several loud explosions were heard from the direction of the turrets Tails had just finished building, along with a multitude of screams. We stood up and looked in the direction of the sounds to see a black-and-gold robot standing atop the smoking ruins of one of Tails' inventions; I immediately recognized him as one of Wily's Robot Masters.

Elecman smirked, lightning crackling at his fingertips. "So, anyone wanna tell me where the emeralds are?"

* * *

 _ **I'm trying to do fight scenes better, and the next chapter will mostly be action-based. If you have any suggestions on that front, let me know what you think!**_


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** **_Well, I'm back with a new chapter! I'm working on a new insert fic for Star Wars named "Call of the Force". Check it out on my profile (or, if you're reading this on Spacebattles, click the link in my signature) if you get the chance! /shillshill_**

* * *

Looking back, I realize that my lack of fear in all the serious situations prior to the incident in Ylisse wasn't due to an abundance of bravery, but rather a devastating lack of perspective. As much as I knew it was real, on some level I was still thinking of everything as a game; taking a life for the first time, and my subsequent interrogation by Ganondorf, changed all that. As such, where there would have been sarcasm and arrogant snarking, I felt nothing short of paralyzing fear at the sight of the Robot Master in front of me.

"Heh, whaddaya know," Elecman said, looking right at me with a bloodthirsty grin. "I come looking for the Emeralds on Doc W.'s orders, and I stumble across the only thing he talks about wanting more. Aside from Megaman, that is."

"S-stay away from him!" Tails stepped in front of me, fear on his face.

Elecman just laughed. "Ah, give me a break, fox boy. You got nothing and ya know it. Don't worry, I ain't gonna kill him—I'm just gonna bring him back so Doc W. can experiment on him!" He pointed a finger at Tails, electricity gathering on the tip. "Now do me a favor and stay right there so I can fry ya."

A lightning bolt shot toward Tails, only for a small yellow blur to jump in the way and get hit instead. "PIKAAAAAAA!"

I watched in horror as Sparks fell to the ground; to my relief, he was completely unharmed by the electricity, but out cold, probably due to absorbing so much energy at once. In the meantime, Tails ran off, probably to get help.

The Robot Master didn't even glance in his direction as he walked toward me. "Heh, not like running is gonna help him. Besides, something tells me you'll be a lot more fun to play with."

"B-but you said you wouldn't kill me!"

"Yeah, I said that..."

A bolt of lightning struck me, causing me to fly backwards and land on the ground, convulsing in pain.

"But I never said I wasn't gonna hurt ya before I took ya back with me. So try and stay conscious a little while longer, yeah? It's no fun if ya pass out before I make ya squeal some more!"

Before he could hit me again, an absolutely massive blast of energy slammed into his side, taking him off his feet and sending him crashing into an empty house nearby, which promptly collapsed on him. Looking in the direction of the shot, I saw Tails standing behind one of the few turrets that hadn't been completely destroyed. "Hey, are you alright, Casey?"

I started to reply when a rumble came from the remains of the house. Both of us looked on in dread as Elecman casually threw aside a large chunk of the collapsed roof, with only a small dent in his chassis to show for it. He shot Tails a positively murderous glare. "Okay, new plan. I hurt YOU first."

Moving faster than the eye could see, Elecman suddenly appeared in front of Tails, slamming his knee into the young fox's face. As Tails soared backwards, Elecman vanished once again, reappearing in midair behind him and slamming him into the ground with his heel. The Robot Master wasn't finished, though, speeding out of sight again to elbow drop the poor fox before standing up and shocking him again and again.

* * *

Rock casually tossed aside yet another group of eggbots as he charged towards Gutsman, the latter robot towering over him by a good ten feet.

"Target: Megaman. Small. Weak." The massive Robot Master slammed a colossal fist into the ground, missing Rock by a hair as the blue robot dodged effortlessly.

"As eloquent as ever, Guts. You'd think Wily would have upgraded your brains by now." Rock smirked as he scanned his enemy, waiting for his systems to copy the giant robot's abilities. Suddenly, he frowned. "Wait. that's not right..."

* * *

A few hundred yards away, Samus and Link leapt from rooftop to rooftop, firing missiles at and dropping bombs on large groups of enemies below them. The sheer number of them meant there were still plenty more, but they fell easily enough.

Suddenly, both warriors paused on that thought, the former voicing their mutual concern out loud.

"Wait. That's not right..."

* * *

Simon and Knuckles were having little trouble dealing with the eggbots; they had long stopped counting their kills and were currently just enjoying the ease with which they were winning for once.

That realization stopped them in their tracks; they looked at each other, speaking in unison.

"Wait. That's not right..."

* * *

Quickman's duel with Sonic and Shadow had become a stalemate; they darted and leaped faster than the eye could see, but their respective speeds were dead even, and neither side seemed to have the advantage.

As Sonic made yet another joke at Quickman's expense, Shadow's expression turned from confusion to dread. "Wait. That's not right..."

* * *

Dr. Albert Wily and Dr. Eggman Robotnik watched the chaos with a calm demeanor.

Wily didn't look to his colleague as he spoke, keeping his eyes on the camera feeds. "Now?"

Eggman smiled evilly as he pressed a button. "Now."

* * *

All over the ruined city, the remaining eggbots suddenly glowed as a bright blue energy surrounded them, encasing them in a near-impenetrable forcefield. Hundreds of robotic voices spoke in eerie unison.

" **AC-TI-VA-TING UP-GRADES. WI-LY TECH SHIELDS ON-LINE."**

Quickman smirked at the sound. "Heh. Looks like it's time to stop holding back! EGG BOOSTERS ONLINE!"

Sonic was in the middle of an attack when Quickman suddenly disappeared, causing the blue hedgehog to sail through the air and land in a roll, looking around in confusion. "Wait, where'd he go?"

Shadow growled. "We've been had... this was a trap!"

"Took you long enough to figure it out, slowpokes!" Quickman appeared behind Shadow, slamming his fist into the black hedgehogs' back and vanishing again before he could respond. "What was it they called you two? 'The Fastest Things Alive'? Sorry, but that title belongs to me! Not even Elecman can match up, let alone you idiots!"

It was all either of them could do to try and block the rapid strikes that seemed to come from all directions; unfortunately, neither Shadow nor Sonic were used to taking hits head on, as they were used to being able to dodge anything that came their way, and as a result they quickly found themselves practically juggled helplessly by their assailant.

The situation wasn't much better for their comrades elsewhere in the city. Simon and Knuckles suddenly found themselves unable to put so much a scratch on their opponents and were forced to retreat into a nearby building; Link and Samus found their own attacks similarly thwarted due to the eggbots' new shields before a volley of lasers shook the rooftop on which they stood, the two barely managing to leap to another one as a swarm of the eggbots flew into the air on previously-hidden rocket packs.

As for Megaman, his worst fears were realized as his scanner confirmed the incredible durability of the new and improved armor plating on Gutsman. He knew right away that none of his weapons would get through the giant robot's massive frame.

"Target: Megaman. Small. Weak. Soon offline."

The blue bomber jumped out of the way of a huge fist, fearing that his opponent's words were more than just hyperbole.

* * *

As Elecman laughed and Tails screamed, I laid where I was, still partially paralyzed from the Robot Master's earlier attack.

 _Sparks is unconscious, Tails is being tortured to death... and I can't even lift a finger to stop it. I was right... I'm useless. I'm no hero. Even if I could move, I'd be too scared to do anything._

Suddenly, I flashed back to what Tails had done earlier. He had to have known that standing in front of me would have done absolutely nothing to shield me from Elecman's attacks, but he did it anyway.

 _But I'm not that strong. I'm not that brave..._

Once again, I saw Tails in my mind, remembering what he had said before the attack.

" _I'd have been scared, too. When it comes to Sonic and the others, I know I'm nowhere near as fast or as tough as they are. But... even if I can't do anything, even if I played right into the bad guy's hands, I'll at least know I did everything I could..."_

I closed my eyes, thinking about those words in relation to what he had done.

 _He... he knew he couldn't win, but he did it anyway... he was scared, too..._

Turning my head to look at my right hand, I stared at the fading Triforce mark. _Maybe it did choose wrong. Maybe I'm not a hero... but I have powers, and Tails doesn't._

I struggled to move my body, only just managing to get onto my elbows. _I'm scared. I don't want to die... but I don't want anyone else to die, either._

Every bone in my body still hurt. I clenched my teeth in pain as I forced myself to my knees. "Rrggh... have to get up... gotta do something..."

Tails continued to scream in pain, further motivating me as I almost stumbled back to the ground, bracing myself with one hand while simultaneously getting one foot on the ground. "Please, God... don't let him die... I can't let him die... get up!"

Pain shot through me as I raised myself onto my other foot, having to lean against a tree to avoid falling back down as I slowly stood. "Get up... get up... GET UP!"

Meanwhile, Elecman had finally had his fill of sadism, smiling as Tails lay there still smoking from the electric torture. "Well, kid, it's been fun. I'd ask ya where the Emeralds are, but I could probably just ask your friend the Gamemaster. You, though, I got no more use for." He charged up a massive amount of lightning in his hand, holding it up over Tails' prone form. "Don't worry, you'll have company soon—"

Before he could deliver the killing blow, a blue blur shot toward him, forcing him to dodge out of the way.

I gently laid Tails on the ground before turning to face Elecman, the blue ears and quills on my head clearly displaying my emotions as I glared at the robot. "Leave him alone. I'm the one you want."

Elecman managed to recover from his surprise quickly. "Whoa... so that's what a Gamemaster can do. But I know the difference between a fighter and a wannabe—Doc W. had me fighting resistance groups in our world ever since he took over there. You're just not on that level, kid. Not that they do any better against a 'bot like yours truly." He prepared yet another attack as he smiled at me. "Still, if ya insist on playing hero, I got plenty of time to indulge ya."

With my new-found speed, I rushed towards the bot. Elecman was taken by surprise as I curled into a ball and slammed into him, knocking him back several feet. "Bah... I'll admit, you're just a bit faster than me. But that doesn't mean anything if ya can't hurt me!"

I had already sped off again, leaping out of sight. He was right; I couldn't hurt him just by slamming into him. I closed my eyes, trying to think. "Okay, what would Samus do?" I looked down at a piece of metal debris in the form of a steel rod on the ground... and after a few moments' thought, I had my answer.

Meanwhile, Elecman was busy looking around for me when his eyes fell on a glowing object in the ruins of one of the houses. Picking it up and putting it in a compartment on his leg, he smiled to himself. "Well, that's one objective down. Now where did that little—"

He was interrupted by my feet slamming into the back of his head. He whipped around and shot out another bolt of lightning, only for me to sail over his head and launch into his side with every last ounce of speed and strength I had, sending us both tumbling to the ground half a football field away.

Elecman got to his feet first, smiling as my power finally faded, spent from use. "Heh... nice try, kid, but you lose." He raised his hand, attempting to call electricity to it... only to shout in alarm as it escaped out his chest instead. Looking down, he spotted the problem: a metal rod had impaled him right where the dent from Tails' turret attack had been, and his attempt to use his signature attack had instead caused the new hole to rupture further. For once, he cursed himself for being unable to feel pain as he vanished.

All the way over in the ruined city, Quickman was about to deliver a killing blow to Sonic when Elecman appeared next to him.

"That damn kid... He'll pay for this!"

"You LOST?!"

"Shut your trap, Quick! We got what we came for. Let's get outta here!"

A blue light enveloped the two as they teleported away, Gutsman vanishing in a similar fashion as the eggbots throughout the city deactivated, leaving the heroes looking on in a combination of dread and confusion.

* * *

My eyes opened a while later to find myself on a cot as an unfamiliar raccoon stood over me, smiling. "Ah, he's awake!"

Link walked over, nodding in gratitude at the Mobian doctor as he sat down next to me. "Are you alright, Casey?"

I started to respond before remembering what had happened before. "Wait, what happened to Tails and Sparks? Are they okay?"

"Calm down, they're fine." The Hero of Hyrule gently placed a hand on my shoulder. "Tails was hurt pretty bad, but they say he'll be up and around in a couple of days without any trouble. Sparks is already back to normal and resting in his pokeball."

I sighed in relief as Link handed the ball in question to me. We sat in silence for a bit, until finally Link broke the silence again.

"Tails told me what you did."

"It wasn't enough to stop Elecman from taking one of the emeralds..."

"He would have taken all of them and killed everyone, Tails and Sparks included, if you hadn't fought back."

I averted my eyes a bit. "About the whole hero thing... I still don't think I'm ready yet."

Link held up his hands in a calming gesture. "It's okay, like we said, you don't have to do it if you don't want to—"

"That's not it," I said, shaking my head. "I'm nowhere near ready to fight with you guys just yet, not just in terms of skill, but also because I'm still scared. But I still want to learn, even if it means staying behind while you guys do your thing. Right now, I'm not a hero, and I don't know if I'll ever really be the kind that you guys hoped you would get when Princess Zelda cast the spell that brought me here."

He smiled warmly at me; I smiled back before looking back at the Triforce mark on my hand, which had now come back completely. "I'm still not sure whether I was chosen to succeed you, or whether I just copied you and it got confused or something. But if I train more, maybe someday I can MAKE myself worthy of it."

* * *

Back in Wily's tower in Megaman's world, Elecman sulked as Wily repaired him.

"I still hate that damn kid..."

"Stop fidgeting and let me work. You didn't fail completely; at least you managed to get one of the emeralds—"

"Forget it. It's fake."

All eyes turned to Eggman, who held the emerald in question in his hand. Wily's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'it's fake'? I analyzed it myself, it's giving off the same energy readings and pulsing at the same rate—"

"Because that fox DESIGNED it to mimic the emeralds. But the emeralds don't pulsate at a perfectly constant rate the way this one does. The difference is slight, but I've dealt with this trick before. It makes sense that they wouldn't just leave them lying around a village for us to find with nothing more than two kids and a few turrets to protect it."

A few moments of silence followed. Wily facepalmed. "Damn... well, at least we know the upgrades work. But without that emerald, our plans are set back considerably. For now, we'll have to play along with our benefactor's game."

Eggman frowned. "Won't he notice that the emerald is fake?"

"No, he's nowhere near as intelligent as we are, and according to what you said about the difference between the fake emerald and the real ones, he has no way of detecting that it's a replica. It'll give off the same kind of energy, so while it won't be nearly as powerful in breaking his seal as a real one it'll be convincing enough that he won't give it a second thought. With that in mind, we should focus on implementing the defenses here; the Royal Guard will have to come for us eventually, and I want to be ready when that infernal Megaman comes calling."

As the two scientists returned to work, another minion of theirs stood silently in the corner, polishing his gatling gun arm and whispering to himself. "Soon enough... 'brother'. Soon enough."

* * *

 _ **I've been working on trying to improve fight scenes; the scene with Elecman in the village was my attempt to test my progress. Let me know what you guys think and where I can improve, and I'll see you all next chapter!**_


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